Secrets
by TheBeautifulNerd
Summary: After deciding to take a break, Cal soon returns to Holby with his seven year old daughter, Matilda. He then finds out that he could have another daughter as well.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a new idea that came to me and I really wanted to post it. It's all about Lily, Cal and Ethan. Matilda is seven years old in this and has moved to live in Bournemouth with Cal. However, Cal is now returning back to Holby and is taking Matilda with him. Ada is the five year old daughter of Lily and Ethan but there is a chance that she could be Cal's daughter :)**

 **I hope you enjoy the story. Also Lily and Ethan are both consultants now :)**

 **Also this is my 50th story so yay! :D**

Chapter One

"That was your grandma," Cal said, as he stared down at the grave in front of him. On the front, the name Emilie Groome had been engraved along with her birthday and the date that she had died. She was described as a loving mother of two but Cal wasn't entirely sure if that was true. She'd given him and Ethan up for adoption and then when they eventually found out who she was, they found that she couldn't have looked after them anyway. "You never met her," Cal sighed and placed an arm around his daughter's shoulder.

Matilda nodded her head and smiled down at the grave. She was wearing a white, flowery t-shirt with a pink cardigan, a pair of jeans and a cute pair of brown, cowgirl boots. Her blonde hair was long and straightened, tucked behind her ears to show off a sparkly pair of silver studs.

"Where did I get my name from?" She asked, looking up at her dad. "You said that I was named after Grandma."

"Well, princess," Cal sighed and crouched down to her level. "Your brother and I lived with this woman who was thought was our mum and she was called Matilda. Then we found out that we'd been adopted and that Emilie was our real mum. Do you know what adopted means?" Matilda shook her head. "Our real mum couldn't look after us properly so this other lady looked after us instead. You are very lucky though because you have two grandmas who I'm sure would love you very, very much if they were here."

"I love them too," Matilda whispered.

"Come on," Cal said, as they turned and made their way back to the car. "You are going to love Holby and you'll get to meet Uncle Ethan."

"Is there a beach at Holby?" Matilda asked.

"There's one close by," Cal chuckled. "Ethan and I have had many special trips to that beach. I know you'll miss Bournemouth but it's important to be near family and I've wanted this for a long time, Matilda."

"Then why are we only moving back now?" She asked.

"These things take time," he sighed. "I guess I just never had the courage. That's all."

"But you have courage now, don't you daddy?" She said, taking hold of his hand.

"Yeah baby," he answered her. "I do."

"Does Uncle Ethan know that you're coming home?" Matilda asked.

Cal shook his head and sighed, before gulping nervously and saying, "no."

* * *

"Are you working?" Ethan asked Lily as he stepped into the study of their country home. It was eight thirty and Lily was sat at her desk, typing away on the laptop with a cup of tea sat in front of her. She was dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and a smart jacket and as soon as her husband spoke, she looked up over the rim of her glasses.

"I just have to finish this report before Monday," Lily told him. "I'm almost done, don't worry."

"You're getting more like Connie by the minute," Ethan chuckled and walked over to her. "It's your day off."

"She asked me to write it," Lily said, flicking her hair out of her face and leaning back in her chair. "Maybe because I'm the only doctor she trusts in that hospital."

"Oh yeah?" Ethan asked and kissed her cheek. "And what about me?"

"You're all right, I guess," Lily joked.

"You do realise that Ava needs to be at school in less than half an hour," Ethan said, glancing at his watch.

"The school's only five minutes down the road," Lily said. "I'm just going to finish this paragraph and then we'll get going. Is she okay?"

"She's sitting in the lounge watching Dora the Explorer," Ethan told her. "I've given her some cereal and some milk but I have to head off to work now. I'll be late otherwise." Lily nodded and Ethan leaned in and gave her another kiss, this time on the lips. "I love you both. Don't work too hard today, okay? Go to the cinema, go shopping, treat yourself to something. I've left fifty pounds on the kitchen table."

"You didn't have to do that," Lily sighed. "Thanks though. I'll drop Ava off at school and then I'll probably go out somewhere. I have a meeting with her teacher this morning."

"Is that today?" Ethan asked. "Sorry, I forgot."

"It's okay, I'm sure it'll be fine," Lily said and hit save on the computer. "There we go. Now, I can get ready."

"I'll see you later," Ethan laughed.

Once Ethan had left for work, Lily made her way into the living room to see their daughter sat on a bean bag. She had her school uniform on and Ethan had tied her hair into two little pigtails, the only thing missing was her shoes.

"Come on gorgeous girl," Lily said and switched off the TV. "Time to get your shoes on. You have school soon."

"Can daddy take me to school?" Ava asked.

"Sorry princess," Lily said and ruffled her hair. "You're stuck with mummy. Daddy's had to go to work today." Ava nodded and sucked on her thumb, as Lily slipped her Dora the Explorer trainers onto her feet. "Good girl," she praised and kissed her forehead.

She quickly put together her lunch and grabbed her school bag from the hallway. Ava held Lily's hand as they left the house, locked up and walked down the road towards the little village school. All the kids were playing in the playground and a couple of Ava's friends waved at her as she walked past with her mum. Lily took Ada inside and knocked on the door to her classroom.

"Come in!" A woman's voice called.

Lily opened the door and led Ava inside. Her teacher, Miss Bailey was sat at her desk preparing the lesson plans.

"Mrs Hardy," she greeted with a smile. "Good morning, Ava."

"Good morning," Ava whispered, with her thumb still in her mouth.

"Thank you for coming in, Lily," Miss Bailey said and shook hands with her. "I won't keep you. It was just a short meeting regarding Ava's reading. She's still struggling so we're looking at getting a teaching assistant in to help her."

"She's five," Lily reminded her. "Even I wasn't able to read properly at five years old."

"I know," Miss Bailey laughed. "But a lot of the children are progressing and Ava can't even read a simple picture book. She gets very upset when she tries, as if she just can't put the words together. We just want to help her, the children are expected to be able to read simple books before they go up to year two next year. Do you and your husband read to her at home?"

"All the time," Lily replied. "She always gets a story at bedtime."

"That's good, it's important that parents read to their kids," Miss Bailey said. "Maybe try and get Ava to read something to you, see how she gets on?"

"Right," Lily sighed. "Thank you, Miss Bailey. I...I'll discuss it with Ethan."

* * *

"Doctor Hardy!" Connie called and made her way over to the consultant. "There is an RTC coming in in about ten minutes. Could you help out in resus please? There's about six casualties so we'll need all hands on deck."

"Of course," Ethan said.

"What's Lily up to today?" Connie asked out of interest.

"Knowing her, working," Ethan sighed but managed a small smile. "She's dropping Ava off at school and I told her to treat herself to something but she was up at half past six this morning working on that report."

"She's brilliant, bless her," Connie said. "Thanks for coming in today."

"I'm more than happy to help with extra shifts," Ethan said. "Don't worry."

Connie nodded and walked off to speak to Rita. Ethan was about to head off to resus when someone familiar caught his eye. He blinked a few times, took his glasses off to clean them and placed them back on his face. He wasn't seeing things.

Cal smiled at his brother and folded his arms across his chest. "Hi Ethan," he said. "Long time no see."

 **Let me know what you think in a review. I don't write much Cal and Ethan so I'd love to know what people think :) x**


	2. Chapter 2

**Guest: Sorry it's Ava. I don't know why I'd typed Ada but it's been changd now, thanks for letting me know :)**

 **CBloom2: You'll soon see and yes he does, although he hasn't been showing the signs yet.**

 **sweeet-as-honey: I'm glad you like it. Matilda is going to be very cute in this and she does actually belong to Cal as well. Lots more to come.**

Chapter Two

"Cal, what...What are you doing here?" Ethan stuttered, his eyes fixated on his older brother.

Cal didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell Ethan the real reason he'd left Holby; it wasn't the fact that their mum had just died, it wasn't that Ethan had just been told he could have Huntington's, it wasn't that Matilda had been taken away from him. He'd made a mistake, after everything that happened and he'd needed some time to clear his head.

"I've come home," he sighed and he noticed Ethan's eyes divert to his daughter. "This is Matilda," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I got her back."

"She looks just like her mum," Ethan said.

"Yeah," Cal agreed. "But she's got her daddy's personality, haven't you princess?" Matilda nodded and giggled as Cal tickled her. "How are you?" Cal then questioned his brother.

"That's all you can ask?" Ethan said. "You've been gone for years, you then turn up without telling me and all you can ask is how I am. How do you think Cal? After all the shit we have gone through, YOU just disappear!"

Cal hung his head and whispered, "Matilda, go and wait by the car for me. I'll be out in a second."

"Okay daddy," Matilda agreed and headed back outside.

"I'm sorry," Cal apologised, as soon as she was out of sight. "I was scared! You had this illness, Mum was dead and I..."

"I'm a dad by the way," Ethan interrupted him. "Yeah? You didn't once call or email so of course you wouldn't know about that, would you? Lily and I are parents. I mean, at least you were there for my wedding. I guess that matters right?"

"I said I was sorry," Cal argued. "Um...Boy or girl?"

"Girl," Ethan whispered. "She's five now, she's called Ava. Lily found out that she was pregnant shortly after you left. It was a surprise really. You were gone for so long Cal, and now you just turn up out of the blue with Matilda as well. I needed you, more than anything."

"You had Lily, you were fine," Cal said. "You didn't mean to. I just made things bad for you."

"What do you mean by that?" Ethan asked.

"You were the one who had Huntington's, not me," Cal said. "I've been a crap brother to you Ethan and I just couldn't live with myself anymore. I'm sorry I ran off, it probably wasn't the right thing to do and I'm sorry. I just want us to start over again."

Ethan didn't know what to say. He went to try and say something but there was a loud squeal and Robyn and Rita both rushed over, throwing themselves at Cal.

"Oh my god, what are you doing back?" Robyn asked.

"I'm here to stay," Cal said, shooting a small smile at Ethan. "I have Matilda with me as well."

"You got her back?" Rita asked.

"Yes." Cal nodded. "Taylor apparently couldn't look after her at all and seeing as I was next in line, she got passed to me so I get to look after her for good. She's seven now, it's unbelievable."

"That's amazing," Robyn said. "So you and your brother are both dads now?"

"Seems like it," Cal said. "Where is Lily?"

"At home," Ethan said. "She has a day off today." He then turned to Rita and Robyn. "Sorry, can Cal and I just have a moment?" They awkwardly nodded and walked away to continue their work. "Does Mrs Beauchamp know that you're back?"

"No," Cal whispered. "I came to find you straight away. No one else knows."

"And you're expecting to have your job back, are you?" Ethan asked. "Lily and I are both consultants now so we'll be way above you."

"Congratulations," Cal praised. "I...I'm pleased for you, bro and I...I can't wait to see Ava. I bet she's adorable."

"She looks like Lily," Ethan sighed.

"I bet you were well happy when she was born," Cal said. "It's amazing, becoming a parent for the first time."

"Well, I was happy," Ethan muttered under his breath.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cal asked.

"Lily struggled with her when she was younger," Ethan confessed. "She wouldn't get out of bed, she kept crying, she refused to go anywhere near her, kept saying all these things like how her life wasn't worth living."

"But she's okay now, right?" Cal asked.

"Yeah, she's fine now," Ethan said. "And she's amazing with Ava. She's like a super-mum, working but looking after her at the same time. She just struggled with motherhood that's all."

"Well, it can be hard," Cal said. "I still remember when Matilda was young, I struggled and Taylor couldn't manage it."

"Like I said, she's okay now," Ethan said. "And Ava loves her. They're really close." He sighed deeply and made eye contact with Cal. "Are you working today?"

"Probably not," Cal said. "I actually have a flat in Holby now and we've got a load of boxes in the car. I was just going to take Matilda and get us both settled in, I wanted to stop by and see you though. I'm really sorry that I didn't contact."

"You're here now," Ethan sighed. "I guess we can just start fresh."

"How have you been though?" Cal asked, remembering that Ethan hadn't actually anwered his earlier question. Instead, he'd just snapped at him. "Like seriously?"

"Fine," Ethan whispered and shrugged his shoulders. He then sarcastically said, "that's the wonderful thing about the disease. You know you have it but you have no idea when it's going to start."

"I know it's scary," Cal said. "And I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left. You have Lily though and you have me and you have a beautiful little girl who loves you loads. You have a huge support system behind you, Ethan. I'm sure you have years ahead of you before you really start showing the signs."

"What if I don't?" Ethan asked. "I'd like to live to see my daughter start secondary school, I'd like to see her go off to university, I'd like to see her get married and have her own children. I...I'd like Lily and I to have more kids."

"You could have all that," Cal said. "There isn't anything stopping you."

"This illness, Cal," Ethan hissed at him. "That is what's stopping me."

"How long have you been feeling like this for?" Cal asked.

"A while." Ethan gave a small shrug. "I'm okay at home, it's just when I get to work."

"So what's different?"

"I guess at home, I...I'm happier," Ethan said. "I love being a doctor but when I'm at home spending time with Lily and Ava, I am so happy with my life and I love it and I...I completely forget about my illness."

"Do you and Lily ever speak about it?" Cal asked.

"Not usually," Ethan sighed. "I don't think Lily likes to mention it in front of Ava. She isn't old enough to find out about it, not just yet anyway."

"I'm here now, bro," Cal said. "I won't leave again. I um...I better get going though, Matilda's going to be getting bored otherwise." Ethan nodded, understanding. "I'll text you later. Chin up."

Ethan nodded and Cal gave him a pat on the shoulder before leaving the ED. He knew that he had to go and speak to Lily.

 **So in the next chapter, Cal goes to see Lily :) x**


	3. Chapter 3

**Agirlwithgreatpotential: I will do, we'll talk soon. I promise :)**

 **CBloom2: Thank you. Lily will always be my favourite to write about but I'm getting more into writing about Cal and Ethan as well :)**

Chapter Three

Lily had finished the report for Connie and was spending the rest of the afternoon doing housework before having to go and pick up Ava from school. She'd gone to the shopping centre for a short while, bought a few new t-shirts and treated herself for lunch so altogether it had been a pretty okay day. She was in the middle of cleaning the counters in the kitchen when the doorbell rang.

"I'm coming!" She called and dropped the cloth, before hurrying over to the door. She opened it and there stood Cal and Matilda. "Cal," she said in surprise, her eyes diverting to the small girl at his side. "Oh...Oh my god, what...What are you doing here? Are you staying? Does Ethan know you're here? Have...Have you got a place to live?"

"I've come back to Holby," Cal sighed. "Yes. Yes and yes."

"Very funny," Lily scoffed and opened the door wider. "Come inside. Who um...Who's this?" She asked, fixing her attention on the young girl.

"Matilda," Cal introduced. "I know she was only a baby when you last saw her. Matilda, this is Ethan's wife, Lily."

"It's so nice to meet you," Matilda said sweetly.

"You too, princess," Lily giggled. "She's lovely Cal, you've raised her well. Did you want a drink, sweetheart? I have some of Ava's juice cartons." She then looked up at Cal, wondering if he knew about Ava.

"Don't worry," he said. "Ethan told me. Congratulations." He glanced around the kitchen and saw toys on the floor and badly drawn pictures stuck to the refrigerator. "It looks very homely."

"It's all I've ever wanted," Lily sighed, grabbing an orange juice for Matilda. "A house in the countryside, a husband, a great job and a child. I never thought that it would come true, not in a million years. I guess some people are just made to start later in life and I happened to be one of those people." She handed the drink to Matilda and said, "here you go."

"Thank you," Matilda thanked her, having a sip from the straw.

"Why don't you go and sit in the living room, princess?" Cal suggested. "I'm sure Lily won't mind if you put the TV on."

"No, not at all," Lily said. "Ava has some DVD's as well. I'm not sure if they'll be your sort of thing but you're welcome to look." Matilda nodded and made her way into the living room. "She's beautiful," Lily told Cal. "I bet she'll break a lot of hearts when she's older."

"She's a right little show-off as well," Cal chuckled. "She wants to be an actress when she's older. I was going to have a look round at local clubs, see if I can enrol her in any drama classes."

"Ava's going to be a doctor," Lily said. "I can tell. Ethan cut his finger the other day and she was looking after him and the blood didn't bother her one bit."

"Does she want to be a doctor or do you want her to be a doctor?" Cal asked. "She's five, Lily. Let her make her own career choice, besides she's too young to be thinking about that now."

"Don't tell me how to look after my own daughter," Lily said, leaning against the fridge with her arms crossed.

"She's my daughter too though," Cal told her. "Right?"

Lily hesitated and chewed her lip before asking, "what makes you say that?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Lily," Cal sighed. "Ethan told me that you fell pregnant shortly after I left. You can't honestly believe that she's Ethan's child."

"Of course she's Ethan's child," Lily argued. "I know who her dad is."

"Did you get a test done then?" Cal asked but Lily didn't say anything. "I thought so. You can't hide this from Ethan forever, it isn't fair on him."

"Well we can't tell him that we slept together, can we?" Lily shouted. "That was a one time thing Cal, can't you just forget about it and move on? You have Matilda now, you already have a daughter so leave Ava alone."

"Look, you couldn't even look after her properly within the first year of her life," Cal mentioned and Lily's eyes widened. "That's right. Ethan told me about your depression, about how you couldn't even look her in the eye let alone get out of bed in the morning."

"I was a first time mother," Lily defended. "Don't you dare hold that against me."

"If you love her you need to let her real father be in her life," Cal said.

"Ethan is her real father!" Lily replied. "You're her uncle, Cal. Do you even realise how inappropriate this is?" She paused with a sigh and said, "no of course you don't. But you can get out of my house right now!"

"Where is she?" Cal asked. "I'd like to see her."

"She's at school, you moron," Lily scoffed. "I don't want you near us, Ava belongs to Ethan. He's her dad."

"Do you still think about that night?" Cal asked her.

"No." Lily shook her head. "Because it meant nothing, we were both upset and it was a huge, stupid mistake. You're Ethan's brother and Ava's uncle and that is all you will ever be so just try and remember that, okay?"

None of them spoke for a second. "Was Ethan surprised to see you?" Lily asked.

"Yeah," Cal sighed. "Angry as well."

"Can you blame him?" Lily scoffed. "You just turned up like this and you expect him to be okay?" Cal gave a small shrug. "How old will Matilda be now?"

"She's seven," Cal whispered. "She doesn't act it though, instead she acts like she's fifteen. Makes me feel old."

"Where are you staying?" Lily asked.

"Only about ten minutes away from the ED," Cal said. "In a flat. It's quite small but it's cosy and big enough for the two of us. I'll be round though to see Ava, I need to see her."

"No you don't," Lily sighed. "I don't want you near my daughter. I know you think she belongs to you but she doesn't, I'm sorry but I have nothing else to say. You can go now."

 **Hope you liked the chapter :) x**


	4. Chapter 4

**holby fan112: Thank you and I'm trying to get each character as believable as possible.**

 **CBloom2: It would indeed, you'll soon find out though.**

Chapter Four

Everything was very quiet at dinner time that evening. Ava seemed to be the only one who was making noise, Ethan was just eating his dinner and Lily's mind was set on Cal's visit earlier that day. Eventually, Ethan spoke and broke the silence.

"Ava, don't play with your food," he whispered, noticing that she was rolling one of her toy cars across a hill of pasta that she had created. "Good girl," she praised when she'd stopped and turned to look at his wife. "I um...I forgot to tell you, Cal's back."

"Is he?" Lily asked, pretending that she didn't know about it. "Um...How?"

"Wow," Ethan chuckled. "I was expecting more of a reaction from you. Yeah, he's back with Matilda and he says he's staying this time. He's in some flat near the ED."

"What's he doing back?" Lily asked, shovelling a spoonful of pasta into her mouth.

Ethan shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure," he sighed. "He's missed out on so much of my life and after my diagnosis as well, I...I can't help but feel angry at him."

"That's understandable," Lily whispered. "Um...I spoke to Miss Bailey today. She says that we need to work on Ava's R-E-A-D-I-N-G skills."

"And you think that by spelling it, she won't understand what you're saying," Ethan said. "She's brighter than you think."

"We need to do something," Lily hissed. "I don't want her to get to the end of her primary school years without being able to read a bloody Harry Potter book!"

"Don't swear in front of her," Ethan said. "Kids pick things up. We'll help her, okay? Kids struggle with things, I struggled with P.E as a child. Ava obviously struggles with English."

"That's because you're extremely uncoordinated," Lily pointed out. "I just don't want her to be bullied because she can't read."

"She might be dyslexic," Ethan said. "In my opinion, schools put too much pressure on kids these days. It's all about exams and studying, why can't they just sit back and let kids be kids?"

"Mummy, can I...I...Ask you a question..." Ava stuttered out quietly, as she stopped eating.

"Of course, sweetheart," Lily said. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm worried...I'm worried about bullying," she whispered.

"Why are you worried about bullying?" Lily asked and had a small sip of her drink. "Has somebody been mean to you?" She turned to Ethan and mouthed a small 'see what I mean' at him. "What's wrong, darling? Talk to mummy."

"At...At school today, I...I hit Mason with a barbie doll," Ava said.

"Oh?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "You're worried that you're a bully? Well, you know it isn't nice to hit people Ava. Why did you do it?"

"He...He took my chocolate biscuit," Ava said.

"Well, you still shouldn't have hit him," Lily said. "You should have told a teacher or asked him to give it back."

"I did ask him to give it back!" Ava squealed. "But he didn't."

"Well, like mummy said," Ethan put in. "You should have told a teacher. It's just a chocolate biscuit, darling."

"But they are my favourite biscuits, it's always my once a day treat," Ava said, sticking her thumb into her mouth. "Mummy gives me one once a day but I can't have one once a day if Mason always steals them."

"Well, how about I give you one after dinner?" Lily asked and tapped her on the nose. "And I will talk to Miss Bailey about Mason tomorrow. I don't ever want you to hit him again though, okay? It isn't polite."

"Okay, mummy," Ava said. "I'm done with my food now."

"What do you say then?" Ethan asked, narrowing his eyebrows at her.

"Thank you," Ava said.

"Good girl," Lily said, ruffling her hair and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Ice-Cream? Then I'll give you a biscuit."

"She's going to be sick, Lily," Ethan laughed. "How about just the biscuit? We can open the ice-cream tomorrow."

"I just want her to know that we love her," Lily said, kissing Ava on the head and tucking her hair behind her ears.

"She knows," Ethan whispered. "She doesn't need us to fatten her up with food to know that, don't worry."

"Can I get down please?" Ava whispered.

"Course you can," Lily said and Ava jumped down from her chair. Lily sighed and leaned back in her chair, having a small sip of her drink. "Um...So Cal came round today," she eventually decided to tell Ethan.

"What?" Ethan asked. "Why didn't you tell me, Lily?"

"I don't know," she whispered and gave a small shrug. "He...He mentioned my depression, why did you tell him?"

"I'm sorry," Ethan apologised. "But he asked about Ava and said that we must have been over the moon, it...It slipped out. I didn't think it was that much of a big deal, you're better now and you've come such a long way. He shouldn't have mentioned it to you though, I'll have a word with him about it. You know, I thought you were quiet when I got home."

"I've just been thinking about it, that's all," Lily said. "I feel like I've missed out on so much of Ava's life."

"She loves you," Ethan said. "And you haven't missed out, okay?" Lily nodded, smiling as Ethan walked over and kissed her cheek. "I'll wash up, yeah? Go and play with Ava and watch Dora or something."

"Can't we say that Dora's been cancelled or something?" Lily whined, throwing her head back.

"I don't think that would work somehow," Ethan chuckled. "Go on."

"Don't forget her chocolate biscuit," Lily said. "You can bring it through when you've finished the washing up."

"I won't."

Lily stood up and made her way into the living room. Ava was on the floor by her dolls house, playing whilst making the dolls talk to each other. Lily knew that if she turned the TV on, she'd immediately start talking about Dora so instead, she knelt down on the floor beside her.

"Can I play, sweetheart?" She asked.

"Yes," Ava said and handed a doll to Lily. "This is Lucy, she...She is a queen in a posh house and this is her doggy Barney," she said and held up a plastic dog. "Lucy doesn't work because...Because she has a very, very rich husband. Like daddy!"

"Oh sweetheart," Lily said, looking at the doll in her hand. "Lucy needs a job, she can't just sit at home and let her husband earn all the money. She needs to be independent and work for herself, not let the man control her life. Mummy works, doesn't she?"

"Yes," Ava said. "Can...Can I come to yours and daddy's work one day?"

"The hospital isn't really a place for children, darling," Lily said. "But I'll talk to my boss, okay? Do you think you'd like to help people when you're older, like mummy and daddy?"

"I don't know," Ava said, placing one of her dolls in the house. "Maybe. I like drawing too."

"Oh you're very good at drawing," Lily praised. "I always like your pictures, don't I?" Ava nodded, as she continued playing.

"Washing up is done," Ethan said, walking into the living room. He crouched down beside his daughter and handed her a chocolate biscuit. "Here you go, angel. Your special chocolate biscuit."

"Thank you daddy," Ava said, biting into the biscuit.

"Are you okay?" Ethan asked his wife.

"Yeah," Lily said, looking down at the doll in her hands before looking back to her playing daughter. "Are you happy?" She asked Ethan.

"Yeah," Ethan sighed and smiled at the sight in front of him. "Are you?"

"Yeah," Lily said. "I am now."


	5. Chapter 5

**Agirlwithgreatpotential: Haha yes, such a great name ;)**

 **ETWentHome: Thank you! It could possibly be his but only a test will determine it for sure. More to come.**

 **sweeet-as-honey: It would have been awkward and I love Ava, she's so cute and adorable! Thanks for reviewing.**

Chapter Five

 _Lily arrived home from work, feeling completely exhausted. She placed her bag down in the hallway and locked the door behind her, before strolling into the kitchen. She wasn't alone though, she saw Cal standing in the middle of the kitchen with Ava in his arms._

 _"How did you get in here?" She asked._

 _"Ethan gave me a spare key," he said and shrugged his shoulders. "It's my house now as well."_

 _"No, no it isn't," Lily said. "There isn't enough room for you and Matilda to stay here. Now put down my daughter."_

 _"She likes me," Cal said, bouncing her up and down in his arms._

 _"Daddy!" Ava squealed, giggling with excitement._

 _"Ava, no," Lily whispered and shook her head. "No. Ethan is your daddy and he'll be home any minute."_

 _"Daddy!" Ava squealed again, grinning at Cal lovingly._

 _"You heard her," Cal whispered and turned to Ava. "That's right, princess. Daddy's here."_

Lily woke up in a sweat. She sat bolt upright in bed and held a hand to her tangled hair, glancing around the dark room. The clock was ticking and Ethan was lying fast asleep beside her. Taking a nervous breath, she glanced at the clock and saw that it was 1:30am. She double checked to see if Ethan was still asleep before climbing out of bed and making her way out of the door and through to Ava's room. She was fast asleep under her pink, Frozen blanket, thumb in her mouth and Princess Elsa doll clutched to her chest. Lily smiled and tucked her in a bit more, she kissed her head and left to go back to her own room. Her daughter was safe, it was all just a bad dream.

"Where did you go?" Ethan asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"What?" Lily asked and climbed in beside him. "Sorry, I...I woke up and I thought I heard Ava stir."

"Is she okay?" Ethan asked and Lily nodded faintly. "You look warm, why don't you open the window?"

"I...I'm fine," Lily lied. "Just had a bad dream, that's all."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ethan asked but Lily shook her head. "Okay, you haven't had any nightmares in ages though. What brought that on?" Lily stayed silent and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I'm here if you do want to talk about it."

"Thanks," Lily whispered softly.

"I was thinking of inviting Cal and Matilda over for dinner one evening," Ethan said. "Cal wants to see Ava and I think Ava and Matilda would get on really well together. They're close in ages."

"I don't know," Lily said. "Maybe that...Maybe that isn't such a good idea."

"Why not?" Ethan asked.

"Sometimes it's nice to just have family time," Lily said. "And by that, I mean...Just us three. Besides, Ava gets really shy around new people so I don't really want to make her nervous."

"She's a kid, Lily," Ethan said. "She needs to meet new people and this is her Uncle Cal we're talking about here. Come on, we can either cook or order a pizza and the kids can play outside in the garden or something."

"I'm tired," Lily sighed and lay back down. "Let's talk about it in the morning."

Ethan nodded faintly and lay back down as well, holding Lily close to him for a hug. Lily sniffed and breathed in his scent, briefly closing her eyes to try and get back to sleep.

* * *

"Okay, Doctor Keogh I would like to see you in resus please," Lily said, as she rummaged through the stack of papers in front of her. "Doctor Munroe, you can help him," she added and turned to Alicia who was standing at her side.

"What? Really?" Alicia's eyes widened in shock. "Wow, thanks Lily."

"It's Doctor Chao to you," Lily told her, as her mobile phone vibrated from her pocket. She pulled it out and unlocked it, revealing a photo of Ava. She hadn't even realised that Alicia was looking over her shoulder.

"Is that Ava?" She asked and Lily nodded. "She's well cute, looks like you. I like her cheeky smile."

"Thanks," Lily thanked her.

"How old is she now?" Alicia asked.

"Five," Lily said. "She'll be six in June."

"She's dead cute," Alicia said.

"Get to resus," Lily said, but she couldn't help but smile. Alicia nodded and patted her shoulder before doing as instructed and making her way to resus. "Doctor Knight?" Lily questioned, noticing that Cal was walking towards her in scrubs. "What on earth are you playing at?"

"I work here," he said and shrugged his shoulders.

"What?" Lily scoffed. "Since when?"

"Since I asked Mrs Beauchamp if I can have my old job back," Cal said. "You're not clinical lead yet, Lily," he said and winked at her. "So you cannot make the decision."

"Well, what about Matilda?" Lily asked. "Where is she?"

"Until I get her enrolled in school, I've hired a babysitter," Cal said. "Besides Connie knows the situation, she said that I can only work the morning shift today so that I can spend the afternoon with Matilda."

"Mrs Beauchamp wouldn't do that," Lily muttered under her breath. "The ED has changed, Caleb. It isn't the same as it used to be so don't go thinking that it is."

"Come on then," he sighed. "Impress me. What's changed?"

"Well, Doctor Hanna has left for starters," Lily said. "And Lofty is training as a therapist in the ED. Ben's helping him."

"He'll be good at that," Cal said. "And you and Ethan are both consultants. What about Alicia?"

"She failed her first exam," Lily informed him. "But she's currently resitting it. If she passes, she will become a registrar like yourself. Now, make yourself useful and go and see to Mr Page who is in cubicles." And she piled a stack of notes on him without saying thank you. "Whether you like it or not, your brother and I are above you so you better get used to it."

"Thanks for the invite by the way," Cal said, as Lily went to walk away.

Lily stopped walking and slowly turned round to look at him.

"Yeah," Cal said. "Ethan invited Matilda and I for dinner tonight. Apparently, you were dead set against it but he seems quite excited. I hear we're having Lasagna, see you at six okay?"

Lily chewed her lip and clenched her hands into fists as Cal walked off smirking to himself. She held her hands to her head and sighed deeply, trying her best not to lose her patience.

 **Let me know what you think x**


	6. Chapter 6

**CBloom2: I absolutely agree with you. Enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter Six

"I don't understand why we had to invite him over," Lily whined, as she and Ethan cooked dinner together in the kitchen. Cal was due to arrive any time soon and Ava had already eaten her sausages and chips, the plan was to let the girls play whilst the adults had dinner in the kitchen. "I told you that I didn't want to have him round for dinner."

"What have you got against my brother?" Ethan asked. "Look, I know he left us and stuff but he's my brother and I want him in my life. I want him in Ava's life."

"Well, I don't!" Lily snapped.

"Why?" Ethan sighed and folded his arms across his chest. "Just tell me and I'll maybe re-think this dinner."

"I just..." Lily trailed off and shook her head. "I'm worried he might...He might want to take Ava."

"What?" Ethan frowned. "Lily, that's ridiculous. Ava is our daughter and his niece, he has his own child. Is...Is this about the dream you had last night?" Lily just shrugged her shoulders and Ethan walked over and rubbed her arms comfortingly. "Hey," he whispered. "I promise you, hand on heart, that no body wants to take our little girl. You understand me?"

Lily faintly nodded her head. "Yeah," she whispered to him. "I understand."

There was a knock on the door.

"Well, it's too late to cancel now anyway," Lily added.

"I'll get it," Ethan sighed. "Just try and be nice and Cal said that Matilda is really looking forward to seeing Ava."

"Whatever," Lily muttered under her breath, as she carried on with the cooking.

* * *

Ava was sitting on the grass in the garden digging in the mug, when Matilda walked out with her stuffed dog. Ava glanced up and looked the older girl up and down, she was wearing a white dress with sandals and she had a small, white satchel hanging across her. Matilda also looked Ava up and down, taking in her long sleeved, red t-shirt, her grass stained jeans and her wellington boots.

"Hi," Ava greeted and got back to her digging.

"What are you doing?" Matilda asked, kneeling down on the grass and tucking the strands of hair behind her ear.

"Digging for buried treasure," Ava said. "What's your name?"

"Matilda," she introduced herself. "You're Ava, my daddy's told me all about you." She looked down at the dirt and bit her lip. "Girls aren't allowed to get dirty, it isn't lady like."

"Me and my daddy always dig together," Ava said. "Do you like Dora?"

"No." Matilda smiled and shook her head. "I like The Beatles."

"Is Dora in The Beatles?" Ava asked and Matilda shook her head. "Oh," Ava whispered and eyed up the stuffed dog in Matilda's arms. "Can I pet it?"

"This is Sparky," Matilda said, holding the dog close. "Except daddy said that we could be getting a real doggy soon."

"Real doggies make my mummy sneeze," Ava said. "But when I turn six, I might be getting a rabbit!" She stopped digging and looked at Matilda. "Where is your mummy?"

"I don't live with my mummy anymore," Matilda said. "Daddy said I don't need her though because it's me and him to the end of the world."

"I need my mummy," Ava whispered.

"Do you?" Matilda raised an eyebrow. "I heard daddy on the phone to your daddy, your mummy didn't look after you when you were born did she?"

Ava hung her head. She sniffed and dropped her trowel before rushing back into the house. Ethan, Lily and Cal were all sat at the table eating dinner and drinking wine. Ava popped her head round the door and hurried into the kitchen and over to her mum.

"Ava, what have I told you about wearing boots in the house?" Lily sighed, as Ava lifted her arms up to her. Lily smiled and lifted her onto her lap for a cuddle. "You okay, baby girl?" Ava nodded, rubbing at her hair and eyes.

"Where's Matilda?" Cal asked.

"Ava obviously doesn't want to play with her," Lily said, tying her daughter's hair into a tiny plait. "You can't force children to be friends."

"Ava," Cal said, leaning across the table to speak to her. "Do you want to go back outside and play with Matilda?"

"No." Ava shook her head. "I want to stay here with mummy."

"And you can do, baby girl," Lily said, kissing her head. "You can do."

Cal watched them and took a sip of his wine. Matilda soon arrived at his side, Sparky tucked under one arm. She remained at Cal's side, watching Lily and Ava having their cuddle. She couldn't help but envy the young girl, having both of her parents there to look after her.

"What were you girlies doing, eh?" Cal asked, stroking his daughters hair.

"Ava was playing in the mud," Matilda informed her dad.

"Ah, the buried treasure game," Ethan said. "She loves it, never finds anything though."

"I'm not allowed to get dirty," Matilda told him.

"Right," Ethan sighed. "How about we get you kids some ice-cream and you can take it into the garden and have your own little picnic? That sounds like fun, doesn't it?"

"Ice-cream isn't very good for you," Matilda said. "My best friend, Amanda said that to me back home."

"Well, we can have it on the odd occasion can't we?" Ethan said, giving her a small wink as he cleared away the empty plates. "It's Ava's favourite after dinner treat, right pumpkin?" Ava nodded with a smile and laughed as Lily tickled her tummy.

"Did you ever want more kids, Lily?" Cal asked.

"I don't think so," Lily whispered and gave him a small glare. "Ethan and I have one perfect child, why would we want more?"

"I think Ava will be a good big sister," Ethan said, picking up the empty bottle of wine and kissing Lily's temple. "We haven't really discussed it, Cal. I think we're fine with just the one for now though."

"Jordan is having a baby," Ava said.

"Who's Jordan?" Lily asked her.

"A boy in my class," Ava said. "He's having a baby. He told me at lunch time yesterday."

"Well, I don't think he's having a baby is he?" Ethan asked. "His mummy will be having the baby, he'll just be the brother."

"Where do babies come from?" Ava asked, causing everyone in the room to fall silent.

"Children aren't supposed to ask that question," Matilda said. "It's rude and we're not supposed to know until we start secondary school. Isn't that right, daddy?"

"Um...Yeah," Cal sighed. "Something like that."

"Are they brought by stalks, like in Dumbo?" Ava asked. "So if mummy did want a baby, all you would have to do is ask mummy and then a stalk will bring you which...which ever baby you like, a boy or a girl. That's right, right?"

"You know what?" Lily said, shifting in her chair and patting Ava's back. "I could really do with some of that ice-cream. Ethan?"

"Coming right up," Ethan chuckled, grabbing the ice-cream out of the fridge. He grabbed a couple of pink plastic bowls and scooped some ice-cream into each, making it an equal amount. He handed one to his daughter and the other to Matilda.

"Thank you," Matilda whispered, too polite to mention that she didn't actually want any.

"Chocolate sauce?" Ethan offered and whilst Ava nodded enthusiastically, Matilda shook her head. "Now, how about the two of you go back into the garden and play," Ethan said. "And us adults can finish our conversation."

Lily kissed Ava's head and let her jump down from her lap. Ava held her bowl of ice-cream and chocolate sauce under one arm, grabbed hold of Matilda's hand and led her into the garden, skipping as she went.

"Matilda is um...Very mature, isn't she?" Ethan laughed and sat back down next to his wife. "I mean, she's only seven."

"Well she had to care for her mum quite a bit," Cal said, finishing off his glass of wine. "Taylor wasn't capable of looking after a child, she was often getting drunk and sleeping in and...Matilda had to do everything for herself at an extremely young age. Can you blame her?"

Ethan and Lily were silent, none of them sure of what to do or say.

"Um...Do you want some more wine?" Ethan asked but Cal shook his head. "It's good to have you back, Cal. I um...I've missed you."

"Yeah, I've missed you too," Cal sighed and glanced briefly at Lily. "Both of you. How's um...How's Ava doing at school anyway? It's just, I have to enrol Matilda in somewhere and I'm not quite sure where."

"Well, Ava goes to the little village school down the road," Lily said. "It's really small so they might not have any places left."

"We can ask," Ethan said. "It's a really good school. Ava's getting on well there."

"She's having trouble with her reading," Lily reminded him quietly.

"Yes but...We can work on that," Ethan said. "That isn't the schools fault, it's just something that Ava struggles with. Isn't it her parents evening next week? Maybe you could ask if they have some places."

"That'll look good, right?" Lily said sarcastically. "I go along to talk about my own child but instead I start talking about someone else's."

"Just at the end, before you go," Ethan said.

"Won't it be too far for you to travel though?" Lily asked Cal. "I mean, it's quite a way from Holby. Ethan and I have an hours journey into work, sometimes hour and a half."

"We can manage that," Cal said. "Matilda loves school and she's quite an early riser as well so I'm sure we'll manage."

"We'll check it out, Cal," Ethan promised. "Now a toast! To family."

"Yeah," Lily whispered and raised her glass. "To family." But all she could feel was Cal's gaze on her the entire time.

 **This may sound like Cal's being horrible and stuff but he isn't. Obviously he thinks Ava is his child and just wants Lily to consider it and stuff. There's more to come so everything will start to make sense but just bare in mind that Cal isn't a bad person in this. Don't worry :-) x**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"So, dinner was nice last night," Lily sighed as she walked into the kitchen. It was a Saturday and Lily had the day off to spend it at home with Ava whilst Ethan was due to go to work. "I um...I'm sorry," she apologised, watching as Ethan started to stack the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. "About the things I said about Cal, he um...He's your brother and I...I don't want us to lose contact with him again."

"Thank you," Ethan thanked her with a smile, as he clumsily dropped a plate. It landed on the floor with a loud smash. "Shit," Ethan cursed under his breath.

"I'll clean it up," Lily sighed. "You should get going or you're going to be late."

"Late?" Ethan raised his eyebrows at her. "I'm not due to be at work yet, I'm on an afternoon shift."

"You've got your appraisal with Mrs Beauchamp though," Lily reminded him.

Ethan hesitated for a second until throwing himself into action. "Oh god, no! I completely forgot!" Lily shot him a worried look, as he went to grab his case from the hallway. "This has been planned for months! How...How could I possibly forget? That's so not a good start."

"Maybe you should get checked out," Lily said.

"We're doctors Lily," Ethan chuckled. "We don't get ourselves checked out. I'm not ill anyway, I feel fine."

"But um...Poor memory and lack of co-ordination are early signs of Huntington's Disease," Lily informed him. "You should know that, Ethan."

"Don't worry," Ethan said and walked over to give her a kiss. "I feel fine."

"Ethan," Lily whispered. "You never know when the symptoms are going to start. You could...You could be on your way there."

"I'm okay," Ethan reassured her. "Besides, my co-ordination is perfectly fine thank you."

"Please," Lily scoffed. "You just smashed a plate, one of my best ones might I add."

"Just clear it up before Monkey strolls into the room," Ethan said. "The last thing we need is Ava down the ED as a patient. Don't you worry about me though, Lily. I'm confident that I have like another twenty years ahead of me."

"Just...Just text me when you get to work," Lily sighed and gave him a kiss. "Please."

"Message received," Ethan joked and kissed her back, before picking up his case and leaving the house.

* * *

"Okay so what's her name?" Lily asked, holding up one of Ava's dolls. Ava giggled and took the doll from Lily, examining her over. "Does she have a name?" Ava shook her head. "Well, what do you think we should call her?"

"When...When will I see Matilda again?" Ava asked.

"Would you like to see Matilda again?" Lily nodded.

"I don't know." Ava said. "She wasn't very nice to me and she doesn't like ice-cream."

"But you still like her?" Lily asked and Ava nodded. "Why?"

"She's pretty," Ava said. "And she's my cousin. I want to see her again."

"You will see her again," Lily said and stroked her hair. "Mummy was wrong about Uncle Cal. Hey, why don't we invite Matilda round for a sleepover? Would you like that?"

"Yeah!" Ava nodded. "Mummy, who are The Beatles?"

"The Beatles are a really popular band who formed in the 1960's," Lily told her daughter. "Daddy may have some CD's of theirs somewhere, he really liked them. Why do you ask?"

"Matilda likes them," Ava said. "But she doesn't like Dora."

"Oh honey," Lily said. "It takes a very special person to appreciate Dora." Ava giggled at her and Lily tapped the doll that she was holding. "Hey, why don't we call her Rachel? That's a nice name, right?"

"Rachel," Ava repeated and placed her inside her dolls house. "I like that. Mummy, why did daddy break that plate earlier? Was he mad about something?"

"No, honey," Lily giggled. "It was an accident, like when you spilled your juice." Ava nodded her head, as she continued to play. Lily bit her lip and said, "Ava, you um...Before you were born, daddy was told some quite bad news."

"What bad news?" Ava asked, keeping her eyes on her dolls.

"Well, he was told that he...He could be poorly," Lily said and stroked at her daughters hair.

"Is daddy going to die?" Ava asked and she looked up to meet her mothers eyes.

"No, no, well...Someday," Lily said. "But that's not going to be for a very, very long time and you will all be grown up then and you'll be able to understand the situation a lot better. You see, daddy has a little something called Huntington's Disease which...Which may cause him to behave a...A little strangely."

"Daddy said that you act strangely sometimes," Ava said and Lily frowned at her. "Like last month, I heard him talking to himself when I was on the toilet. He said, oh god it's that time of the month again here she goes. What does...What does that time of the month mean, mummy?"

"Um...Right..." Lily said. "We...I'm going to talk to you a little bit more about what daddy said in a second. Firstly though, daddy may...he may get a little bit angry at times but that doesn't mean he's stopped loving us, he will always love us and you will always be his favourite little girl. He may get a bit down and...Have trouble with his movement and there will be times where he might not be able to do things by himself. He might need us to help him."

"I can help him," Ava said. "Right mummy?"

"Of course you can help him," Lily said, pulling her into his lap and kissing her on the head. "I think he will appreciate that very much."

"When daddy gets home from work, I'm going to give him a big hug," Ava said. "He'd like that, won't he?"

"Yes, he will," Lily laughed with tears in her eyes and held her daughter even closer. "And I will give him a big hug as well. Now um...How about we go and grab a McDonalds for lunch? Don't tell daddy, it can be our little secret."

"Yes!" Ava giggled.

"Come on then," Lily laughed. "Get your shoes on, Monkey."

Lily stood up and smiled, watching as Ava ran out of the room. They were going to be just fine.

 **Just a cute chapter that focused on Ethan's illness a little bit. I'll try and write a Cal chapter next :-) x**


	8. Chapter 8

**Jinxy999: Thank you and I'm really enjoying that storyline and I'm kind of hoping that they bring in some of the symptoms to show that Ethan could be developing it already if you know what I mean. I don't know if they will though, George might have left Casualty by the time Ethan starts getting the symptoms or something.**

 **ETWentHome: She does, especially because she's married to him and they have a daughter. I just think Ethan is in denial and that he doesn't want to think of the symptoms because it would make his illness all too real.**

 **sweeet-as-honey: I love Ethan, he's so sweet and definitely does not deserve the diagnosis of Huntington's bless him. I really like the storyline though and there's going to be a lot of family cuteness in this story.**

 **Agirlwithgreatpotential: I'm glad you got the joke, haha. I thought it would be quite funny :-)**

Chapter Eight

Cal knew that Ava belonged to him. He didn't want to upset Lily, he didn't want to upset Ethan and he certainly did not want to ruin what they had. Lily had allowed him to see Ava, mainly because he was her uncle and Ethan's brother and he appreciated that but he found it hard to be around her when he knew that she wasn't really Ethan's daughter.

Matilda had started at the local school, a different one to Ava's, and Connie had allowed Cal to have weekends off to take care of her. She understood how difficult it was to be a single parent so she'd contracted him to work Monday to Friday with Saturday and Sunday as his days off. It was a Saturday and he was just slouched in front of the TV, flicking through the channels. He'd planned to take Matilda to the zoo but it was raining unfortunately.

"Daddy, I'm bored," Matilda groaned, leaning against the doorframe.

"Why don't you play in your room?" Cal asked.

"Boring," Matilda sighed. "Can't we go out somewhere?"

"It's raining," Cal told her. "Sorry princess. Why don't we play a game?" Matilda shrugged her shoulders. "How about you invite a friend over?"

"A friend?" Matilda scowled. "I've only been at school for a few days, I haven't made any friends yet."

"You will eventually," Cal said and gave her a comforting smile. "People will be crazy to not want to play with you. You'll make loads of friends, trust me."

"Can Ava come round?" Matilda asked. "Please. She's actually really fun and she's my cousin and all that."

"I don't know," Cal sighed.

"Please," Matilda begged. "It beats just sitting around this place. Come on dad, I don't have many friends. Ava's the closest I have."

"What?" Cal chuckled and nudged his arm. "You don't want to hang out with your old man."

"Please," Matilda scoffed. "You got out of breath going up the escalator in the supermarket the other day." She laughed and wrapped her skinny, little arms around his waist. "So, can Ava come round or not?" Cal smiled and nodded. "Thanks daddy. You're the best."

* * *

Ethan was working so Lily brought Ava over to Cal's house. She'd been hesitant at first but Ava had been listening in on her mum's phone call and had begged her to take her to see Matilda. Lily hated to break her little girl's heart so she had no choice.

"Thanks, Lily," Cal thanked her when they arrived.

"Don't mention it," Lily whispered and slipped Ava's coat off of her. "Good girl. It is pouring it down out there."

"I bet." Cal smiled. "I'll drop her home in a few hours then, yeah?" Lily stood up straight and her eyes widened. "Is that a problem?"

"Um..." Lily anxiously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's just...I...I thought I was staying..."

"I'm capable of looking after the girls by myself," Cal said. "Ava will be fine, honestly."

"I'd much rather stay," Lily said. "Please."

"Fine," Cal sighed and slammed the door shut. "I um...I guess that we can talk whilst the girls play. Did you want a tea or a coffee or anything?" Lily shook her head and took her own coat off. "You sure?"

"I'm sure," she whispered and ruffled Ava's hair. "Go on baby. Go and find Matilda, yeah?" Ava nodded and ran off to look for her cousin. "So um..." Lily ran a nervous hand through her hair. "How have...How have you been?"

"Good." Cal shrugged his shoulders. "I have weekends off and Matilda is at school now. She's feeling kind of bored and lonely though, I mean she hasn't made any friends yet. I'm kind of worried about her, that was why she wanted to see Ava so badly."

"She'll make friends," Lily reassured him. "Ethan and I didn't think Ava would make any friends at first but now she has a fair few."

"How is Ethan doing?" Cal asked but Lily just hung her head. "Let's go and sit down."

Lily followed Cal into the living room and the two of them sat on the sofa. They could hear Matilda and Ava upstairs giggling and playing and Lily smiled, pleased to hear that her daughter was having fun.

"So how's he doing?" Cal repeated.

"I don't know," Lily sighed. "I think he...He might be developing the symptoms already."

"What makes you think that?" Cal asked, feeling sick at the thought of his brothers illness.

"He...He dropped a plate the other day," Lily told him.

"A plate?" Cal had to laugh. "I've dropped plates before, Lily. Everyone has their clumsy moments."

"But then he got really angry," Lily said. "And he completely forgot about his appraisal with Mrs Beauchamp. Aren't people supposed to remember that stuff? He's just...Well, I knew a bit about the disease from being a doctor but after his diagnosis I decided to do a little bit more research and he's just showing all of the signs. I was hoping that it wouldn't start early, Ava is at a really young age and...I guess I never really thought it through properly."

"I don't know what to do," Cal sighed.

"Well he's your brother, isn't he?" Lily said.

"What am I supposed to do though?" He questioned. "He's already had the diagnosis and I...I don't think he really wants to talk about it. Does he ever talk to you about it?"

"Not much," Lily replied and shrugged her shoulders. "If I mention it, it's as if he's in denial about the entire thing."

"And um...Ava...?" Cal asked.

"She knows," Lily whispered with a heavy sigh. "I explained it to her as best as I possibly could. She knows that her daddy is ill, she just doesn't know how severe it could get."

"Daddy?" Cal asked.

"Cal, don't do this please," Lily whined. "She is Ethan's daughter."

"You don't know that," Cal hissed. "I'm just asking for one thing, Lily. I just want you to take a test, just to check if she is mine. I'll leave you alone after that."

"No, it will ruin Ethan if he ever finds out that we slept together," Lily said. "He's already going through a hard time. I...I can't make things worst for him, I just can't do that."

"Well, can I ask you something?" Cal asked.

Lily faintly nodded and whispered, "sure." She looked nervous though.

"Who do you think Ava's dad is? Ethan or me?"

 **I was so pleased that I managed to update this story today. I was so busy at work that I never got a chance but I managed to squeeze some writing in this evening thankfully :-)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Bonnie Sveen Fan: Me too. I like being able to write her with her own, little personality.**

 **ETWentHome: Yes and you'll soon see what Lily's answer is.**

 **sweeet-as-honey: Matilda and Ava are going to have a lovely friendship. That is very true and you'll see what happens further on in the story. It isn't bad at all, haha because I am as well :-)**

 **CBloom2: Thank you. There will be a lot of drama for the little family unfortunately and that is true, haha. I don't think we've seen the last of him :-)**

Chapter Nine

Honestly, Lily sometimes thought that Ava did belong to Cal. She couldn't admit it to him though, he would have never left her alone. The thing was that Ava mainly looked like Lily but she had some of Ethan's personality and Lily had slept with the two brothers around the same time so unless she took a test, there was no way of knowing who Ava belonged to. She just told Cal what she wanted to believe, that Ava was Ethan's daughter.

Cal was desperate to spend time with Ava. Even if she wasn't his daughter, she was his niece and he wanted to be the fantastic, fun uncle that Ethan and Lily both wanted him to be. He soon found his chance when Tuesday came round and Ethan needed him to fetch Ava from school.

"Why can't you or Lily do it?" Cal asked him, as he stood with his brother in the kitchen that morning.

"I'm working late and Lily isn't feeling well," Ethan said. "She's staying home today and I don't really want her going anywhere."

"What's wrong with her?" Cal questioned.

"She's been throwing up so she's just spending the day in bed," Ethan said. "I told her to see how she goes, if she feels any worst then she might have to go to the doctor. Could you just fetch Ava on the way back from fetching Matilda? I'll let her teacher know that you'll be collecting her and that you might be a bit late."

"Well, Matilda has dance club so she'll be staying late after school," Cal told him. "But I'll still pick up Ava. That's no problem."

"Thanks Cal, you're the best," Ethan said. "Lily was worrying so I'll just go and let her know that it is all sorted."

Cal nodded and Ethan hurried upstairs to their bedroom. Lily was lying in bed in her pyjamas with a book, a glass of water and a sick bowl. She smiled when she saw Ethan walk in and he leaned in to hug her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, placing a hand on her forehead. "You don't feel warm."

"Hmm, I just feel sick," Lily groaned. "Have you sorted Ava out?"

"Yes." Ethan nodded and sat down on the edge of her bed. "Cal is going to pick her up from school."

"What?" Lily squealed. "Ethan, no! Why couldn't Connie do it?"

"Because Connie is working and Cal finishes earlier than any of us today," Ethan said. "Lily, don't do this again. Please, Cal is her uncle." Lily took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. "Look, Ava needs to go to school and I need to work so you just concentrate on getting better and Cal will take good care of Ava. Don't worry."

"Fine," she whispered.

"That's my girl," Ethan said and leaned in and kissed her on the lips. "Gross. You stink of vomit."

"Thanks," Lily scoffed and pulled the covers over her. "Girls love to hear that."

"I'll text you on my break," Ethan chuckled. "Get some sleep."

* * *

"Doctor Hardy, I need you in resus today," Connie said, as she walked up to Ethan in reception. "We're rather busy unfortunately, thanks for staying late. How's Lily doing?"

"Yeah, she's okay," Ethan answered. "We're not really sure what's wrong but she's currently lying in bed with a sick bowl. Hopefully she'll be back to her old self soon. Cal's fetching Ava from school so that's been covered at least."

"Good." Connie smiled at him. "Well, send her my love yeah?"

Ethan nodded and promised that he would.

Meanwhile, Cal had gone to Ava's school to pick her up. The teacher was standing outside with Ava at her side, waving all of the other kids off as they left with their parents. Cal smiled and walked over to Ava, giving the teacher the password that Ethan had told him so she knew he was really there for Ava.

"How are you doing, princess?" He asked, crouching down and hugging the small girl. "Did you have fun at school?"

"Uncle Cal!" Ava squealed and flung her arms around his neck. "Where's Matilda?"

"She's at her dance class," Cal said. "So it's just me and you before I have to go and fetch her. Shall we go to the park?" Ava nodded. "How was she today then?"

"She was an angel," Miss Bailey said. "It's a joy to teach her. Just let Lily know that she's still struggling a little bit with her reading." Cal nodded. "Nothing we can't fix though," Miss Bailey said. "Have a good evening with your uncle, Ava. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye!" Ava yelled, as she dragged Cal across the playground. "I like Miss Bailey, she's really nice."

"She seems it," Cal said, holding onto Ava's hand. "So park and ice-cream then, huh?"

"Yes, how is mummy?" Ava asked, as they made their way to the park. "Daddy said she was sick."

"Yes, I think she's feeling a bit better now," Cal said. "But she's resting in bed so I came to pick you up. That was a fun surprise, huh?"

"Not a surprise, silly," Ava laughed. "Daddy said that you were picking me up from school."

"Of course," Cal chuckled, as they reached the park. "So what will it be first? How about the swings, eh?" Ava nodded and hurried over to the swings. "Do you want me to push you?" Cal asked and Ava nodded. Cal smiled and lifted her into the swing before standing behind to push her. "Is that okay?"

"Higher Uncle Cal!" Ava squealed. "Go higher!"

"Not too high, okay?" Cal laughed but started to push her a little bit higher. "This is fun, isn't it?" Ava nodded, her hair bouncing up and down on her head. "We can go and grab some bread from the shop in a minute if you want, so we can feed the ducks."

Cal wasn't sure who was having more fun, him or Ava. He sometimes took Matilda to the park but it wasn't the same, Taylor had always told Matilda how dirty parks were so it had kind of put the poor girl off the idea. Cal was teaching her though, trying to get her to ignore everything that her mum had told her. Also, Ava was still at the childhood age and Matilda was slowly growing up. In six years she'd be a teenager and Cal didn't really want to think of that.

When they had finished at the park and had their ice-cream, Cal took Ava home before he had to go and collect Matilda. Lily and Ethan lived in such an awkward area, deep in the countryside and in the middle of no where and it got quite annoying travelling between the two places. It had always been Lily's dream though, to live in the countryside.

"Where the hell have you been?" Lily shouted at Cal as soon as he walked through the doorway. "I have been worried sick."

"It's okay," Cal told her. "I just...I took Ava to the park."

"Ava, go and change out of your uniform," Lily said and Ava immediately ran upstairs to her bedroom. "You didn't tell me."

"I thought you'd appreciate the peace and quiet," Cal said. "You weren't feeling well, Ethan was at work so I thought I was doing the right thing and helping you out."

"I had no idea where she was," Lily said.

"But you knew that I was collecting her from school," Cal defended. "I should be allowed to take her out somewhere. She had fun, okay?"

"Yeah well she's not your daughter, Cal," Lily snapped. "Yours is at an after school club so you thought you'd steal mine, yeah?"

"It wasn't like that at all," Cal complained and did a subtle eye roll. "How are you feeling anyway?"

"Fine," Lily sighed. "I mean, I've been sick a few times but I'm okay now. I should be back at work tomorrow."

"Don't rush back to work, Lily," Cal said. "If you're not well, you're not well. Take some time out for a bit, yeah? Just make sure you're one hundred per cent better before you go back."

"I know whether I feel ready for work or not, okay?" Lily said. "It isn't your say. How was Ava anyway?"

"Fine and she had a good day at school," Cal said. "Her teacher said that she's still struggling with her reading though."

"Yeah," Lily sighed and grabbed herself a glass of water. "Ethan and I need to work on that. It's just something she finds it hard."

"I found it difficult when I was a kid," Cal said.

"Well, don't think that it means anything," Lily mumbled and had a small sip of her water.

"Right," Cal whispered and hung his head. "I need to go and pick up Matilda anyway. Get well soon."

When Cal had left, Lily placed her empty glass in the sink and made her way upstairs to Ava's bedroom. The five year old was sat cross legged on the floor in just her underwear, playing with her dolls.

"Are you not dressed?" Lily laughed, standing in the doorway.

"Mummy," Ava giggled. "You're still in your jammas!"

"I am, aren't I?" Lily said. "Tell you what, how about you change into your pyjamas as well and we can have an evening in mummy and daddy's bed, does that sound good?"

"Yes!" Ava squealed and ran to find her pink, Minnie Mouse pyjamas. "Mummy, I want to be a dancer!"

"What?" Lily frowned at her. "Where has all this come from, baby girl?"

"Matilda does dancing," Ava said. "I want to dance too, just like her."

"You really like Matilda, huh?" Lily said, taking the Minnie Mouse t-shirt from her and slipping it over Ava's head.

"She's my best friend," Ava said with a smile. "I want to be like her."

"Sweetheart, you are your own person," Lily said. "And if you really want to be a dancer then I will help you with that but don't do it just because Matilda does it, okay? You'll regret it in the future."

"What does regret mean?" Ava asked.

"Um..." Lily tried to think about how to explain the word to her daughter, as she stood holding Ava's pyjama bottoms. "It means feeling sad over something that you did once."

"Oh," Ava said. "Do you regret things, mummy?"

"Yes sweetie," Lily sighed. "I do."

 **Sorry I haven't updated in ages but I hope the chapter makes up for it :-)**


	10. Chapter 10

**sweeet-as-honey: We'll soon see! Lily is a good mum, I'd love for her and Ethan to have kids in the show haha :-)**

 **Let me know what you think of the chapter x**

Chapter Ten

Lily was sick again the next morning. Ethan had woken up to see the right side of the bed empty and he'd walked into the bathroom to see Lily bent over the toilet, throwing up. Of course he'd acted like a loving husband should and made sure that she was okay before taking her back to bed. He was worried though, he hated to see Lily so unwell especially as she was hardly ever sick. The two of them could hear Ava playing in her bedroom and Ethan realised that he'd need to sort out someone to collect her from school again. Either that or he'd have to ask Connie if he could leave early.

"Ava can stay home," Lily said to him, as she lay under the covers with a sick bowl in front of her. "Please. I'm worried that she might have caught what I've got."

"She seems fine," Ethan said.

"Just in case," Lily said. "If there's sickness going around, I don't want her going to school. It's just for one day, Ethan."

"Fine," Ethan sighed. "She can stay home but I would like you to rest for me. I know what you're like Lily and you are absolutely terrible when it comes to relaxing, I'll tell Ava that you're not feeling well and she can maybe sit quietly and do some drawing or something."

"Okay," Lily said. "Have a good day at work, yeah? Please let Mrs Beauchamp know."

"Don't worry," Ethan chuckled and gave her a kiss. "You just concentrate on getting better. Just make sure that you contact Ava's school, okay? They need to know that she won't be in."

"I promise," Lily said.

* * *

It was late afternoon and Lily was making some toast in the kitchen, whilst Ava sat on the sofa in the living room watching an episode of Dora the Explorer. She'd showered and dressed and was just spending the rest of the day relaxing, before Ethan returned home from work. Lily finished buttering her toast and carried her plate into the living room so that she could sit with her daughter. Lily had made sure that her mobile phone was switched off and she'd even unplugged the house phone, she didn't want anything or anyone to ruin her day with her daughter.

"Mummy, why couldn't I go to school?" Ava asked quietly.

"Because mummy isn't feeling well," Lily said. "And I'm scared that you might have caught it. If you go to school, you'll end up passing it onto everyone."

"But you seem fine now," Ava pointed out, as she sat sucking her thumb.

"It's just to be on the safe side," Lily told her.

There was a sudden knock at the door and Lily jumped anxiously, almost dropping her plate of toast. Ava giggled hysterically, finding her mothers nerves extremely amusing. Lily placed her plate on the table and slowly made her way into the kitchen, following the loud knocking. She gulped and unlocked the door to see the postman standing there. She let out a sigh of relief and shakily took the parcel from him.

"Have a good day now," he said, clearly not worried about his lateness and he was on his way.

Lily stared down at the parcel in her hands. It was addressed to Ethan. Ethan hardly ever ordered things, he much preferred to save his money and if he ever really wanted something, he'd ask someone to buy it for Christmas or his birthday. She bit her lip and fingered the parcel, before quickly ripping it open. It was a book about Huntington's Disease. Lily felt tears prick her eyes as she sniffed and placed the book in the top drawer of the kitchen counter by the door.

There was a loud crash from outside and she jumped out of her skin, a small scream escaping her mouth. She didn't feel safe, she didn't feel like Ava was safe. Gasping for air, she hurried into the living room.

"Ava, get your coat," she ordered. "We're going out."

"Yay!" Ava squealed and jumped off of the sofa. "Are you feeling better now, mummy?"

"Um...Yes..." Lily answered. "Something like that. Come on, we need to scoot."

As soon as Ava had her coat and shoes on, Lily called them a taxi to go straight to Holby ED. Ava kept asking if they were going to see her daddy and Lily kept having to tell her that they were going to see Aunt Connie instead. As soon as they arrived, Lily paid the driver and rushed her and Ava inside and towards Connie's office.

"Come in!" Connie called, after Lily had knocked a few times. Lily squeezed Ava's hand and dragged the young, reluctant girl inside. "Lily, I...I thought you were off sick. What are you doing here?"

"You need to look after Ava," Lily panicked.

"Why isn't she at school?" Connie yelled, standing up from her desk.

"Please, Mrs Beauchamp," Lily pleaded and sat Ava down on the sofa. "You have to look after her. She...She isn't safe, she needs someone to keep an eye on her and I...I trust you. Just please do not let anyone near her."

"Lily, what on earth are you talking about?" Connie asked her. "You're rambling."

"He's after her," Lily sobbed. "Please just look after her for me, make sure that he doesn't get hold of her. Please!"

"Lily, take a seat and calm yourself down," Connie said. "Come on, you're scaring your little girl here." She placed her hands on Lily's shoulders and gently sat her down in the chair at her desk, just as Rita entered the office with a stack of notes. "Ah, Staff Nurse Freeman. Could you do me a favour and look after Ava for me?"

"Sure," Rita agreed, glancing across at the five year old.

"Don't let him near her!" Lily shouted at Rita through gritted teeth.

"Okay, okay, ssshh," Connie comforted and rubbed Lily's back. "Rita will look after her." Ava shyly stood up, taking a quick glance at her mum.

"Be good princess," Lily said, taking Ava's hand and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Mummy loves you. You'll...You'll be okay."

"Come on, darling," Rita said in a gentle voice and wrapped her arm around Ava, before leading her out.

"Now, what is all this nonsense?" Connie asked and crouched in front of Lily. "Who is after Ava?"

"Cal," Lily choked out.

"Cal as in our Cal?" Connie questioned. "Caleb Knight?" Lily gave a faint nod with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Now, why would Cal be after your daughter? He has a perfectly good daughter of his own, doesn't he?"

"But he wants Ava," Lily cried. "He keeps spending time with her and talking about her and I am certain that he was in my house earlier!"

"Lily, Cal is her uncle," Connie had to remind her. "And he can't have been in your house, he's at work today. You were just imagining things."

"No I wasn't!" Lily screeched.

"Lily, are you sure you're not going back to your old ways?" Connie sighed deeply. "It's just, before when Ava was born you...You were increasingly paranoid then, thinking that everyone around you wanted to take Ava away from you."

"This is different," Lily cried. "Cal is after her."

Ethan suddenly arrived at the door, mobile phone in his hand.

"Rita said you were here," he said to Lily. "I have only just had a chance to check my phone and I see a missed call and a voicemail from Miss Bailey asking why Ava wasn't there today. Lily, you told me that you would contact them."

"Sorry," Lily apologised under her breath. "I forgot."

"But they had tried ringing you first," Ethan mentioned. "House phone and mobile. What happened?"

"I...I'd switched my phone off," Lily stuttered. "And...I...I unplugged the house phone."

Connie sighed and stood up, hands on hips. She pursed her lips together and held a hand to her head, not quite believing what she was hearing. Lily had had one rough patch after giving birth and it had been a scary time for everyone but Ava was five now and for four years, Lily had been absolutely fine.

"You're meant to be in bed anyway," Ethan whispered.

"I think that is the least of our worries right now," Connie said, holding a hand up to Ethan. "Lily thinks that your brother is trying to kidnap Ava."

"Thinks?" Lily snapped. "I know!"

"What have you got against Cal?" Ethan shouted at his wife. "She...She...Anyway, she is his niece, Lily! He has a right to see her."

"Ava," Lily whispered, looking up at Ethan out of the corner of her eye.

"What?" Ethan scowled at her.

"Ava is our daughter's name," Lily said. "You clearly couldn't remember."

"Of course I remembered!" Ethan yelled in frustration. "Look, don't try and change the subject here. My brother has a right to be in her life and if you can't accept that, then...Well, maybe we need to rethink things a bit."

"What's going on, Lily?" Connie asked, shaking her head at her. "Is there something that you're not telling us here?"

"No," Lily whispered and looked down at the floor. "I'm a good mum," she added, glancing back up at Connie.

"I know." Connie nodded and gave her a sympathetic smile. "I know you are, I don't doubt that one bit." She sighed and pulled up a chair, before sitting down on it. "I guess some people just...Well, they just need a little bit more help than others. I know how much you love Ava but you can't shut her away from the world, especially away from her own uncle. It isn't fair on Cal, it isn't fair on Ethan and it especially is not fair on Ava. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"I just don't want anything to happen to her," Lily admitted. "I'll never be able to live with myself if something does. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"And you think that something is going to happen to her if she's around Cal?" Connie asked. "Cal's a father himself, Lily. He isn't going to hurt her. Maybe we need to look at putting those counselling sessions back into place."

Lily stood up and knocked the chair flying backwards, before storming out of the office. Ethan stood back against the wall and Connie tried to shout after her but she wasn't listening.

"She was sick again this morning," Ethan mentioned and Connie turned to look at him, sighing quietly to herself. "It's my fault, right?"

"Why would it be your fault?" Connie asked.

"This...This illness..." Ethan went to say. He hated talking about it. "Lily's scared that I'm developing the symptoms already and she's even more scared that Ava is going to inherit it the gene as well. That's why she's acting like this."

"It isn't your fault, Ethan," Connie said. "Don't think like that."

"But...Do you think that I could already be getting the symptoms?" Ethan stuttered in a small, childlike voice.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Ethan," Connie said. "I think it could be possible."

 **I would just like to say a massive GOOD LUCK to everyone who will be taking their GCSE's soon. I took mine like five/six years ago so I know how stressful they can be, I'm sure you'll all be fine though. Good luck :-) x**


	11. Chapter 11

**xMissWhitneyBexx: You're welcome. You'll do fine, I'm sure :-) x**

Chapter Eleven

"Lily, how are you feeling?" Alicia asked, hurrying over to Lily. "Are you feeling any better?" Lily just put on a fake smile and nodded at her. "I have my resit coming up soon, I was hoping that you would help me out with it. Is...Is that okay? Lily?"

"Doctor Chao," Lily corrected her.

"Technically, it's Doctor Hardy," Alicia laughed. "You and Ethan are married now, don't forget."

"Mrs Beauchamp still prefers Doctor Chao," Lily sighed and flicked through the notes that she was holding. "Ethan and I are both consultants and it could just be a little bit confusing so whilst at work, I use my maiden name."

"Right," Alicia said. "So will you help me or not? With the exam I mean?"

"What do you need help with?" Lily asked, looking to her.

"I just need someone to test me," Alicia said. "I really don't want to fail again." Lily hesitated but gave her a nod. "Thanks Lily, you're the best. You're feeling better then?" Lily nodded again and kept her focus on the patients notes. "What was wrong?"

"I don't know really," Lily sighed. "I just felt really sick every time I woke up, I was usually fine by the evening."

"Maybe you're pregnant again," Alicia suggested.

"I don't think so," Lily said. "Ava's enough for the moment and with Ethan's illness, we cannot be having another child."

"It's a possibility." Alicia gave a small shrug. "How is Ethan? It must be awful, finding out that you could have Huntington's Disease. What are you going to do when the symptoms start?" Lily sniffed and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I'm sure you'll all be fine. How about a girls night this weekend? We could invite Robyn as well."

"Really?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, it'll be fun," Alicia told her. "I haven't been out in ages and you look as if you could use a distraction. Ethan can look after Ava, can't he?"

"I'll have to check with him," Lily said. "When were you thinking?"

"Saturday?" Alicia asked. "We could go to the pub nearby." Lily nodded in agreement, promising that she'll try and make it. "Awesome. Well, I should get back to work now but I'd have a think about what I said. Besides, having another baby in the family couldn't be that bad." And she patted Lily on the shoulder before walking away.

Lily thought long and hard about what Alicia had said and quickly filed away the notes.

"Mrs Beauchamp!" She called. "Can I take my break?"

Connie shot her a look of shock. Lily never asked if she was able to take her break, Connie usually had to remind her to take one. She couldn't say no, Lily had been working some long hours and she was due a break anyway.

"Um...Sure..." She replied. "Are you okay?"

"I just feel a bit sick," Lily said. "I need some air."

"Again?" Connie raised an eyebrow. "We really need to look into that Lily."

"I'll talk to you later," Lily said and hurried off, almost knocking Rita over in the process. She knew what she had to do, even if she wasn't pregnant she needed to check. She sighed heavily and made her way towards the hospital pharmacy, rushing straight towards the pregnancy tests. She felt so awkward and embarrassed, scared that people were watching her and judging her. She just grabbed the cheapest one though and slammed it onto the counter, fishing in her pocket for the correct change. She purchased the test and the woman stuffed it into her bag for her to take.

"Hello Mrs Hardy," someone called as she exited and she turned round to see Cal standing there. "What were you doing in the pharmacy?"

"Um...Work...Work stuff..." Lily lied quickly.

"Work?" Cal asked. "Mrs Beauchamp just told me that you were on your break."

"I had to grab something, okay?" Lily snapped. "It's none of your business." Cal narrowed his eyebrows at her and she sighed heavily. "I was picking up a pregnancy test if you must know."

"You're pregnant again?" Cal asked.

"I don't know," Lily answered. "That is why pregnancy tests are invented."

"Alright," Cal chuckled. "Calm down. At least Ethan will have one child that belongs to him."

"Shut up," Lily hissed.

"I'm just saying." Cal shrugged. "I um...I didn't even know that you two had had sex lately. Ethan never mentioned it."

"It's not the sort of thing that you really discuss with your brother," Lily said, a frown on her face. "Sorry and all that."

Cal didn't say anything for a short while. "Are...Are you going to take it then?" Cal questioned. Lily sighed and leaned back against the wall, her eyes on the brown paper bag. "The test, I mean?"

"I don't know," Lily whispered.

"What's stopping you?" Cal whispered back and stood at her side, also leaning against the wall. "You want more kids, don't you?"

"Yeah, of course I do," Lily replied.

"So..." Cal gave her arm a gentle nudge. "What's stopping you?"

"One day..." Lily sighed and made eye contact with Cal. "Ethan is going to be really sick. His symptoms are already starting to slowly develop and I don't want him to have the stress of looking after another child. I...I don't even know if I could handle it, I'm going to be looking after two kids and my husband as well."

"You shouldn't think that way," Cal said. "Ethan would love more kids, you can't let his illness stop any of you or you'll never have any fun. Look, I'd take the test, see what the result is and if it's positive talk to Ethan."

"Why are you being nice to me?" Lily asked.

"Because you are my brother's wife," Cal said. "Besides, I care about you and I know that you don't want Ethan to know about that night."

"He is never going to know," Lily said. "Because it doesn't even matter. Ava is his daughter, just leave me alone Cal. If you really believe that Ava is yours, why haven't you told Ethan?"

"Because you need to tell him yourself," Cal said. "He has enough on his plate at the moment and I don't want to hurt him but I'm sorry Lily, he needs to know the truth and he needs to hear it from you."

"I have to go now," Lily whispered and immediately pushed past Cal before he could say anything else.

Tears pricked her eyes and she quickly headed into the girls bathroom and locked the door of a cubicle. She opened up the pregnancy test and took a deep breath, quickly wiping away her tears. She was so scared but she also felt a hint of excitement. Another baby might be nice. She followed the instructions and waited for a couple of minutes before looking down at the screen.

Positive.

* * *

Connie gathered Lily into her office for a small chat after her lunch break. Lily decided not to tell her about the pregnancy, she didn't want to tell anyone. She stood in front of Connie's desk with her hands behind her back, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"Are you feeling okay?" Connie questioned her. "You don't need to go home?"

"I'm fine," Lily said. "Honestly."

"Okay," Connie sighed. "Do you think that the stress you are under at the moment could have caused the sickness?"

"Maybe." Lily shrugged. "I'm okay now."

"I'm just concerned," Connie said. "Considering the chat we had before about Cal trying to kidnap Ava. Do you still feel that way?" Lily was silent. "Lily, he has no reason to take her and he's her uncle. You need to try and get rid of this silly paranoia and just enjoy family time with Ethan and your daughter. It's important because one of these days you're not going to have an awful lot of family time."

"What are you saying?" Lily accused, her eyes widening.

"Well, Ava isn't going to be a little girl forever," Connie said. "Soon she'll be all grown up and she won't want to be spending time with her parents, will she?"

"I guess not," Lily said. "Do you regret not spending much time with Grace?"

"Yeah, I do," Connie said. "But she's still got a year left until she's a teenager and she's still at that age where she wants to spend time with her old mum so it feels quite nice."

"Sometimes I think that Ava would prefer to live with Cal though," Lily said. "She gets on really well with Matilda and I...Well, I didn't look after her properly when she was born."

"She loves you," Connie said. "And it's about time that you realise that as well. Go on, I think I am going to let you get back to work BUT before you go, was there anything that you needed to talk to me about?"

"No," Lily lied and shook her head. "I can't think of anything. Thanks Mrs Beauchamp."

"Any time," Connie said. "Just try and relax, yeah? You have a family now, you need to make time for them as well." Lily nodded. "What are you doing this weekend?"

"Well, I might go out with Doctor Munroe and Staff Nurse Miller on the Saturday evening," Lily said. "And we might take Ava out for the day on Sunday but we're not too sure yet."

"Go for it," Connie said. "Go on, you and Ethan both have the weekend off so treat yourself and do something nice with Ava."

"Okay," Lily agreed. "Thank you."

And in her head, she made a mental note to tell Ethan about the news.


	12. Chapter 12

**sweeet-as-honey: Definitely and you'll soon see. Haha, I can just imagine Cal being like that lol. Let's hope your husband doesn't do that :-)**

Chapter Twelve

"So have you got any cute photos of Ava to show me?" Alicia asked, as she sat next to Lily with two pints of beer. Robyn followed with another one and sat down opposite her friends. "Come on, I love kids and Ava is incredibly cute. I've always wanted a daughter."

"I have a couple," Lily said, having a sip of her drink whilst taking her phone out of her pocket and handing it to Alicia. "Here. You can have a flick through, most of the photos are of Ava."

"She is an angel," Alicia said, as she scrolled through the photos. "Look, if you ever need a babysitter..."

"I'll keep you in mind," Lily laughed. "But Ethan and I hardly ever have nights out together. If we go out, we take Ava with us."

"This is really nice," Robyn said and had some of her drink. "Just the three of us hanging out and having a girly evening, we should make it a weekly thing or something."

"That'd be so awesome," Alicia said. "Can we play truth or dare?"

"What?" Robyn squealed. "Are you sure you're not drunk already?"

"I'm fine," Alicia said and waved her hand at her.

"But you are on your second pint already," Lily pointed out.

"So are you," Alicia giggled and handed her phone back to her. "They're good photos. So truth or dare, Lily! You are first, truth or dare?"

"Truth," Lily answered. "I am not a daring person, thank you."

"Okay..." Robyn sat there deep in thought. "What should we ask you? Okay, what is the weirdest place you have ever had sex in?"

"What?" Lily squealed. "Are you seriously asking me that question? Uptight, serious, boring Lily Chao?"

"But you're not Lily Chao anymore," Alicia said and had another swig. "You're Lily Hardy and Lily Hardy is fun and daring. Go on, you need to answer the question or you'll have to forfeit."

"Fine," Lily sighed. "Well, when Ethan and I first started dating he decided to take me to a fun fair."

"I didn't think you liked them," Alicia said, listening intensely to her answer.

"I don't," Lily said. "Which is why Ethan took me to one. He wanted me to let loose and see the fun side and he said that apparently everyone needs to go at least once in their life so he dragged me along."

"And?" Robyn questioned.

"Well, I didn't find it fun one little bit," Lily continued. "It was crowded, loud, tacky and just horrible. But anyway, Ethan and I went on the ferris wheel and we got stuck at the top."

"You didn't?" Alicia gasped.

"Oh, we did." Lily nodded. "And we got caught when we reached the bottom."

Robyn and Alicia immediately burst into hysterics and it was then that Lily realised girly nights with friends was good every once in a while. She'd always put her career first and recently she'd always put Ethan and Ava first. She hardly ever went out with anyone else, it felt nice.

"Go on," Alicia laughed and poured the rest of her beer into Lily's glass. "Have another drink on me."

"Well, I'm only a few weeks pregnant," Lily laughed, having a sip of her drink before realising what she'd said. "Shit," she muttered, gently placing her glass down and wiping around her mouth.

"Are you pregnant again?" Robyn asked and immediately snatched her glass away. "What on earth are you drinking for? Why didn't you tell us?"

"See, didn't I tell you?" Alicia squealed with excitement. "Didn't I tell you? I knew it, I just knew it!"

"Calm down," Lily whispered. "It slipped out, neither of you were meant to know so please do not say anything to anyone."

"Why?" Robyn asked. "Are you not pleased?"

"Of course I'm pleased," Lily said. "I have always wanted Ava to have a sibling. I just...I don't know if I'm ready to tell people, not just yet anyway. Ethan has enough on his plate and I don't know how he'll handle the news."

"Understood," Alicia said. "Still, that's great news Lily. When did...When did you find out?"

"The other day," Lily whispered. "When you had suggested it to me." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, "I took a pregnancy test afterwards and it came back positive. The only other person who might know is Cal. He kind of saw me with the test."

"And have you told him that you're pregnant?" Robyn asked.

"No." Lily shook her head. "He...He hasn't even asked actually. It's weird."

"Well, it's none of his business anyway," Alicia said and shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe he realises that or something."

"Yeah," Lily sighed. "Maybe."

"I'll get you a non alcoholic drink instead," Robyn said and stood up. "Is Coke okay?" Lily nodded and gave her a smile, as Robyn headed up to the bar. Lily watched her leave and turned her attention to Alicia.

"I'm doing the right thing, aren't I?" Lily asked. "Keeping it?"

"Of course you are," Alicia replied. "Ethan may have Huntington's Lily but he's an incredible father to Ava and he loves you. You're an incredible mum, you deserve another child."

"I'm just a bit worried," Lily admitted.

"About what?" Robyn asked, arriving back at the table and placing a full glass of Coke with ice and lemon in front of Lily.

"Well, I...I'm not an incredible mum am I?" Lily said, looking from Robyn to Alicia. "Within the first year of Ava's life, I...I wanted to kill myself. I felt like everyone was after Ava, I thought that she was better off without me and I...I'm just worried that the same thing will happen all over again."

"You weren't well at the time, Lily," Robyn mentioned. "You were a new mum as well but you got better quickly, didn't you? It isn't going to happen again, I'm sure."

"I'd tell Ethan though," Alicia added. "I know you said that you didn't want to but I would. He needs to know, sooner rather than later."

"She's right," Robyn said and Lily nodded in agreement, knowing that in fact Alicia was right. "Anyway," Robyn said, changing the subject. "Come on, let's not talk about it tonight. Can I see some photos of Ava as well?"

"Sure," Lily said with a smile and pulled her mobile out of her pocket again.

 **I've just started watching Holby City by the way. I really like it so far but I think Casualty will always be my favourite, haha. Hope you enjoyed the chapter :-) x**


	13. Chapter 13

**HarryPotterHolbyAndHorses: Here you go :-)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: Haha, the side effects of alcohol! Yes, I'm sure Lily has cured his fear. I've found a website with every single episode of Holby City on it so I've started watching from the start. I'm on episode two. I love Jac so I mainly started watching for her :-)**

 **Bonnie Sveen Fan: It is, they're going to have a nice friendship in this. I've only just got into Holby.**

 **Guest: Thank you so much, I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. More to come.**

 **xMissWhitneyBexx: Gosh, I've been watching Casualty for four years but I really like Holby so far. I've started watching it from the beginning, Casualty will always be my favourite though.**

Chapter Thirteen

Ethan was lying on the bed with his head in his new book. It was the book he'd ordered ages ago, all about Huntington's Disease and he'd found it in a drawer in the kitchen. He guessed that Lily had opened it and hid it there and he couldn't help but feel disappointed. Lily shouldn't have even opened it in the first place. She was currently out having a girly day of lunch and shopping with Alicia and she'd taken Ava with her so he was taking the opportunity to read up on his illness.

He sighed heavily as he heard the front door slam shut and he realised that Lily must have arrived home already.

"Daddy!" Ava squealed.

"Um...I...I'm coming, sweetheart!" Ethan called and quickly closed the book, shoving it straight under the bed. He straightened the covers, cleared his throat and headed downstairs. "Hey," he greeted his wife and daughter. "Where's Alicia?"

"We dropped her home on the way back," Lily said. "How's your day been?"

"Yeah." Ethan nodded. "It was...Good, nice...Nice and relaxing thanks. How was shopping?"

"Great!" Ava said and wrapped her arms around her dad's waist. "I missed you lots."

"And I missed you too, princess," Ethan said, hugging her back and kissing her head. "Good girl. Did you buy lots of nice things?"

"Yes we did," Lily giggled. "Ava, why don't you go upstairs and put on your new t-shirt to show daddy?"

Ava nodded her head and carried her bag upstairs to her bedroom, leaving Ethan and Lily alone in the kitchen.

"She has a new t-shirt?" Ethan asked, turning her attention back to Lily.

"Well she has a few new clothes," Lily said. "Mainly dresses but I think you'll like this shirt. It was Alicia's idea."

"So you had a good time then?" Ethan asked and folded his arms across his chest. Lily nodded, placing her shopping bags on the table. "Good, to be honest I was getting worried about you. Maybe a good, girly day out was exactly what I needed."

"Why were you worried about me?" Lily asked.

"Well." Ethan gave a small shrug. "This whole thing with Cal."

"It was a good day," Lily said, trying to avoid the topic of Cal. "And Alicia is really good with Ava. Ava loves her as well, they were like the best of friends."

"Where did you have lunch?" Ethan asked.

"Nandos," Lily laughed. "Trust me, it wasn't my first choice but Ava wanted to go because some kid at school had gone. That girl is just copying everyone she meets lately, including Matilda which I think is a really bad idea."

"Ava's only young," Ethan said. "It's natural for kids to copy other kids at that age. I used to copy Cal all of the time, wanting to be like him."

They heard heavy footsteps on the phone and immediately Ava rushed into the kitchen, proudly sticking out her chest to show her new t-shirt to Ethan. Lily smiled with her hands on her hips and chewed on her lip, waiting for Ethan's reaction. The t-shirt was plain white but on the front in black letters was "I AM GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER" and underneath was a huge smiley face. Ethan's mouth hung open as he read what was on Ava's shirt, before turning to look at Lily.

"Is this true?" Ethan whispered, gesturing to Ava's shirt.

"Yes," Lily whispered and nodded her head. "It's true."

"Lily!" Ethan shouted and ran over to pick her up, before swinging her round. Ava stood, giggling hysterically at her parents. "That's amazing news! I cannot believe you told our daughter first though."

"She told me at lunch," Ava laughed.

Ethan shook his head at her, walked over and lifted her into his arms as well. "You are a devil," he teased, kissing her cheek. "Are you happy?" Ava nodded, a huge grin on her face. "Good girl. Mummy and daddy love you, you are going to be a brilliant big sister."

"Am I still allowed to eat ice-cream?" Ava asked.

Lily and Ethan both frowned in confusion. "Of course," Ethan chuckled. "You can have as much ice-cream as you like."

"Then I am very happy to be a big sister," Ava said, as Ethan placed her down on the floor.

"And you," Ethan said, walking over and kissing his wife on the lips. "I am going to take you out for a lovely dinner."

"What has got into you?" Lily giggled. "The baby is like the size of a peanut at the moment."

"I don't care," Ethan chuckled and kissed her again. "Come on, it's been ages since we had a proper date night. How about I call Cal to babysit Ava? He can bring Matilda and the girls can watch a film or something."

"Actually, Alicia said that she could always babysit," Lily mentioned. "And Ava loves her."

"Fine," Ethan sighed. "To keep you happy, yeah? We'll ask Alicia."

"Thank you," Lily said. "How are you feeling anyway? Do you um...Do you feel okay?" Ethan nodded, grinning from ear to ear. "Look, I...One of these days you're going to get worst and I..."

"I know what you're saying," Ethan whispered and stroked her cheek. "But I'm going to stay strong and I'm going to keep going. I am not going to let this illness beat me, especially not before my new son or daughter is born. I just want my children to be proud of me."

"They'll always be proud of you," Lily said. "I am."

"Thank you," Ethan whispered and nuzzled his face in her blouse. "I love you. So, shall I book a table for tonight at that nice, little Italian place you like?"

"That sounds good," Lily said and looked across at her daughter. "So Ava, are you okay spending the evening with Aunty Alicia?"

"Yes." Ava gave an enthusiastic nod.

"Come on," Ethan said and rubbed Lily's back. "Go and change into something beautiful and glamorous and I'll book a table."

"Sure," Lily agreed. "But Ethan?"

"Hmm?"

"Are...Are you sure that you're okay?" Lily double checked with him.

"Yeah." Ethan took a deep breath. "I'm great."


	14. Chapter 14

**CBloom2: We'll soon see whether that's true :-)**

 **Jynx999: I know you're not a Lily fan so I appreciate it that you're enjoying the story. Not many people like Lily, haha. She is slightly different in this story and there will be more of Ethan's illness.**

 **HarryPotterHolbyAndHorses: Thank you and that will come out soon enough. I'm glad you like the story :-)**

Chapter Fourteen

"So are you excited about being a big sister?" Alicia asked, as she and Ava sat on the floor playing a board game. Ava nodded and moved her counter four spaces, before holding her stuffed bear to her chest. "You'll have lots of responsibilities."

"What does that mean?" Ava asked, putting her head on one side.

"Well..." Alicia paused for a second. "Mummy and daddy are going to need your help when the new baby comes. A new baby can be a lot of work."

"How much work?" Ava frowned.

"Don't worry," Alicia giggled. "Mummy and daddy will do the main bits but you'll have some special big sister stuff to do."

"They'll still love me, right?" Ava asked quietly.

"Of course they will," Alicia said. "You're their special little girl." And she stroked her hair and gave her a kiss. "Good girl." There was a knock on the front door. "I'll be right back, Ethan must have forgot something." Alicia stood up from the floor and hurried over to the front door, opening it to see Cal and Matilda. "Oh, hey Cal. What can I do for you?"

"I um...I came to drop something off for Ethan," Cal said, walking his daughter inside. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm babysitting Ava," Alicia said and slammed the door shut. "Ethan and Lily have gone out for the evening." She looked down at Matilda and smiled sweetly. "Hello darling, you're Matilda right?" The young girl nodded shyly. "I'm Alicia, I work with your dad."

"Why didn't they ask me to babysit?" Cal asked. "No offence but I am Ethan's brother and the girls love playing together."

"I um...I don't know." Alicia shrugged her shoulders, and led them through to the living room.

"Matilda!" Ava squealed and Matilda sat down opposite her on the floor.

"Right," Cal sighed, hands in pockets. "How come they've gone out anyway? It isn't their anniversary or anything is it?"

"No, they're celebrating," Alicia said without thinking. "I mean..." She trailed off.

"Lily's pregnant, isn't she?" Cal sighed again. "Sorry, I saw her buying a pregnancy test though and I...I'm guessing it was positive." Alicia nodded faintly. "Did you know that?"

"Yes," she replied. "Robyn and I both know. I um...I don't think they're telling anyone yet though so please keep it to yourself."

"Will do." Cal nodded and walked over towards Ava. "How are you doing, little one? Have you been spending the evening with the lovely Alicia?" Ava nodded and smiled at Cal. "I bet you've been having a lovely time," he said and gave her a hug. "And now Matilda is here to play with you as well. You're like sisters, you two are."

"I'm going to be a big sister," Ava said.

"You are indeed," Cal chuckled. "And Matilda is your big sister."

"Except she isn't," Alicia giggled. "Don't confuse the poor girl, Cal. What was it that you needed to give Ethan anyway?"

"Oh, a DVD," he said, pulling it out of his coat pocket and handing it to Alicia. "Can you give it to him when they come back? He's been wanting to watch it for ages." Alicia nodded, promising that she would. "Thank you. Listen, how about I take Ava off your hands for a while?"

"I'm fine," Alicia said. "Besides, it's dark out and Ava will be going to bed soon."

"I'm not going to take her anywhere," Cal said. "I'll just sit in here with her and Matilda and you can go and watch some TV or get something to eat. I want to spend time with my dau...With my niece."

"Well, I...I might go and grab some dinner," Alicia said. "If that's okay."

"Of course." Cal nodded at her, his hands on Ava's shoulders. "Of course."

Alicia thanked him and headed into the kitchen, leaving Cal alone with Ava and Matilda. He sat on the floor and pulled Ava into his lap, causing her to giggle and lean up to kiss his cheek. Cal smiled and rested his chin on her head, wrapping his arms around her skinny, little waist. Finally, he had some quality time with the girl he knew was his daughter.

* * *

"Cal was here?" Lily shouted, when Alicia had told her the news. "Why on earth did you let him in the house, you stupid idiot?!" She hung her coat up and glared angrily at Alicia who was stood there looking terrified. "What did you think you were doing?"

"Lily, calm down," Ethan whispered, walking over and giving her shoulders a rub. "Cal just wanted to drop something off for me."

"And then he had the nerve to spend time with Ava!" Lily yelled.

"I don't get what the big deal is," Alicia said. "Cal is our friend, Ethan's brother and Ava's uncle."

"Things are just a bit tense at the moment with Lily and Cal," Ethan said. "Lily seems to think that he is after Ava."

"Because he is!" Lily shouted.

"I thought we'd stopped all of this nonsense," Ethan said. "Come on Lily, don't stress yourself out especially with the baby and...Everything."

"Let me get one thing straight," Lily said. "I don't want Cal to EVER step foot in this house again, I don't want you to speak of him and I certainly do not want Ava to be around him."

"Lily," Ethan whispered. "He's my brother."

"You don't understand," Lily cried. "He isn't who you think he is. He...He's a bad person, Ethan. I'm your wife and Ava is your daughter, we deserve to come first so please, please just do this for me."

"You're tired," Ethan said. "Maybe you should go to bed."

"I know what Cal is like," Lily kept crying. "I'm just scared that he's after Ava and I don't want to lose her."

"I know you don't, I know," Ethan comforted and pulled her in for a hug. "Come on, you're not going to lose her and you're not going to lose me. It's okay, I'm here now, I'm here. I promise Lily, you're not going to lose any of us."

 **Things are going to go a bit more downhill from here and Ethan will soon find out the truth x**


	15. Chapter 15

**sweeet-as-honey: It was and maybe, we all know that he wants to know Ava. I love sweet Ethan but he may not be so sweet in further chapters, let's see what happens :-)**

 **CBloom2: Loads more, glad you like the story.**

 **ETWentHome: She must be so scared, bless her. I'm sure Ethan's reaction won't be too good at all when he finds out.**

Chapter Fifteen

"So when are we going to tell people?" Ethan asked, as he and Lily sat at the kitchen table the next morning. "About the pregnancy, I mean? We could tell them today if you want, they're going to find out at some point and..."

"Ethan," Lily cut him off and shook her head. "No, I...I'm happy and everything but I would just like to keep it between us for the time being. Alicia, Robyn and Cal already know and that is plenty. I just don't feel ready for everyone else to find out just yet. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Ethan sighed, although he seemed disappointed. "Yes, I...I understand."

"Are you okay?" Lily questioned him. "You've been off all morning."

"I'm just..." Ethan ran his hands down his face. "I've been feeling low."

"Why?" Lily asked. "You...You do want this baby, don't you?"

"Yes, of course I do," Ethan replied. "I don't know, Lily. It's hard to explain. I...I've just been feeling quite down, that's all. I might take the day off work."

"Don't do that," Lily said and took a sip of her tea. "We all have our bad days, Ethan. I'm certain that you'll feel better once you arrive at Holby. If you get there and you still want to go home, then just tell Mrs Beauchamp you don't feel well." Ethan sniffed and gave a faint nod. "I'll drop Ava off at school, okay? It'll allow you to have a more relaxed start to the day."

"Thanks, Lily," Ethan thanked her. "That would be great."

* * *

"Okay princess, you be a good girl for mummy," Lily said, crouching in front of Ava and zipping her coat up. "Have a good day. I'll leave you to play with your friends and I'll be inside having a word with your teacher about something."

"Kevin!" Ava screamed, spotting her friend in the distance and raced across the playground to see him.

Lily giggled and headed into the small little school to talk to Miss Bailey. She was sat at her desk, sorting out the lesson plan before the children came in from the playground.

"Lily, it's good to see you," she said. "Is there a problem?"

"Um...No...No, not at all," Lily said. "I just needed to talk to you about something."

"Of course, take a seat," the teacher said. "Is there something going on with Ava?"

"No." Lily shook her head and sat down. "Ava's been great and she is really enjoying school and we're helping her with her reading as well." Miss Bailey nodded with a smile. "I would appreciate it though if...If you didn't allow Ava to go home with her uncle."

"But your husband said..." Miss Bailey went to say.

"I know," Lily interrupted. "I know that Cal has come to collect her on a number of occasions and I know that Ethan said it would be fine but...Well, please don't let Ava go home with Cal."

"Has something happened?" Miss Bailey asked.

"We've just had a small family argument," Lily said. "I'd rather it if he didn't collect Ava from school. That's all."

"Fair enough," Miss Bailey said. "I'll make a note of it."

"Thank you," Lily said. "I appreciate it."

"How are things at home, Lily?" Miss Bailey asked. "With Ethan's illness and everything?" Lily gave a small shrug, it upset her when people asked and it upset her more when she had to admit that Ethan's symptoms were starting already. "Have you ever thought about getting Ava tested?"

"Why?" Lily asked. "Is she...Has something happened?"

"No," Miss Bailey reassured her. "But we all know that Huntington's is genetic and obviously Ava will have the choice when she turns eighteen but sometimes it's easier to get them tested when they're children, they may deal with it better when they become an adult then."

"We haven't really thought about it," Lily admitted, debating whether to tell Miss Bailey that Ava was going to be a big sister. She decided against it. "I um...I better get going anyway or I'll be late for work."

"Understood," Miss Bailey said. "I'll see you later, Lily."

Lily nodded at her, before leaving Ava's school. Ethan was already at work when she arrived at Holby and he immediately pulled her in for a hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Lily smiled sweetly, without telling him about the conversation she had had with Ava's teacher.

"Love you," he whispered.

"Love you," Lily whispered back and patted his back, as he headed off to resus. She folded her arms across her chest and watched him walk away, but someone suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her into the nearest room. Lily squealed as the door slammed shut and she was shoved against the wall. "What are you...What are you doing?" She shouted.

"It was positive then, was it?" Cal asked and blocked the door so that she couldn't get out.

"Yes," Lily sighed and rolled her eyes angrily. "It's none of your business anyway actually."

"How are you feeling?" Cal asked.

"Actually, I sadly passed away last night," Lily spat at him. "But don't worry, Ethan is so smart that he actually managed to make a clone of me before it happened."

"Haha, very funny," Cal scoffed sarcastically and shook his head. "Look, you're pregnant with Ethan's child so why don't you just come and clean and tell him that Ava belongs to me?"

"Because she doesn't!" Lily shouted.

"How the hell do you know?" Cal asked. "You haven't even taken a paternity test, Lily!" Lily didn't say anything. "Look, you can't keep her from me forever. It's Ava's birthday soon and Ethan is going to want me there."

"When are you going to understand?" Lily yelled. "That Ava is not your child and she never will be your child. We slept together Cal but it was a one time thing and it was a mistake! The only good thing that came out of it was my beautiful daughter but that's all she will ever be. Mine. Not yours, not Ethan's but mine."

"But don't you want to know?" Cal whispered. "If Ava really does belong to Ethan, she could have Huntington's as well when she's older. Don't you want to know so that you can prepare yourself?"

"Of course I do," Lily said. "And I'm going to get her tested."

"So you'll get her tested for Huntington's but you're not going to see who her real dad is?" Cal questioned.

Lily shook her head. "I can't, Cal," she whispered. "I want Ethan to be her dad."

"But what if he isn't?" Cal asked.

"Well." Lily shrugged her shoulders. "He never needs to know, does he?"

What Lily and Cal didn't know was that Ethan had been standing outside the room the entire time and he'd heard everything. Sighing deeply and allowing tears to roll down his cheeks, he pursed his lips together and walked away.

 **Hope you liked the chapter x**


	16. Chapter 16

**sweeet-as-honey: He was but I think we are going to see quite an angry side to him soon. I do feel so sorry for him though because he has basically lost everyone. Thanks for reviewing.**

 **CBloom2: It will indeed, more to come.**

 **HarryPotterHolbyAndHorses: Thanks for your lovely reviews, Cal is horrible in this story haha.**

Chapter Sixteen

"Why am I here?" Lily whispered, as Connie led her towards Ben's office. "I said I was fine, there isn't anything wrong with me so I don't need to see Ben." Connie had to smile, as they stopped outside the office.

"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with you," she laughed. "It just might do you some good to have a chat with him."

"Chats are for little old ladies," Lily spat. "And I am not one of them."

"Humour me," Connie said. "This obsession with Cal is getting out of hand and I think Ethan's illness might be getting to you slightly as well. It's just for an hour and you won't even have to see him again, not if you don't want to."

"Fine," Lily sighed.

"Go on," Connie encouraged. "I'll talk to you later."

Lily faintly nodded and walked into the office, surprised to see Lofty standing in there. He looked different, for one he was wearing a suit and tie which was so unlike him. Lily looked back to the closed door and then back to Lofty in shock.

"Doctor Chao," he greeted, raising the mug of coffee that he was holding.

"Am...Am I in the wrong place?" She asked. "I'm here to see Ben."

"He'll be back in five," Lofty sighed.

Lily nodded and folded her arms awkwardly. "So, how's the training going?" She asked.

"Really well," Lofty said. "Ben is teaching me some stuff but I've enrolled onto this online course in grief counselling. It kind of feels nice, going back to college. I think I was really cut out to be doing this, instead of nursing."

"Well, sooner or later you'll be fully trained up," Lily said. "Is Ben going to be long?"

"No." Lofty shook his head. "Can I help at all?"

"This isn't something that you can really help with, Lofty," Lily said and caught Lofty glancing at her with his head on one side. "I...I'm late..." She stuttered in a quiet voice.

"Late for what?" Lofty shrugged at her.

"Late," Lily repeated and gave him a nod.

"Late for what?" Lofty asked in a louder voice.

Lily was beginning to lose her patience but the door suddenly opened and Ben walked in, looking pleased and as if he was expecting to see Lily there. Lily smiled back to be polite and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Mrs Beauchamp said that you were here," Ben said. "Lofty, if you would like to take your break. I just need to have a small chat with Lily." Lofty nodded and took his coffee with him, as he left the office. "So Lily, you seem to have a lot going on at the moment. What's wrong?"

Lily shrugged her shoulders and whispered, "no one believes me so why should you?"

"Try me," Ben teased.

"Cal's trying to take my child," Lily said, again in a soft whisper. "He...He's trying to take Ava."

"Now why would Cal want to do that?" Ben asked.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me," Lily scoffed and ran a hand through her hair. It was tangled and she was beginning to sweat. "No one else does so why the hell would you?"

"I'm just asking you a question, Lily," Ben said. "Why would Cal want to take Ava?" Lily didn't say anything, she couldn't tell him that she and Cal had slept together. "Lily, I can't help you if I don't know the reason."

"I don't know!" Lily lied. "Okay? I have no idea, he is trying to take her though and no one will believe me!" The door opened and Connie walked in. "Where's Ethan?" Lily snapped, lips pursed.

"I don't know." Connie shrugged. "Resus I think. Why? What's with the shouting?"

"Get him here," Lily ordered.

"Lily, he's working," Connie calmed her. "Sweetheart, what's going on?"

"Don't patronise me!" Lily yelled. "I'm fed up because Cal is out there trying to kidnap my baby girl and I...I can't do anything about it and no one else will believe me. I can barely sleep at night because I keep thinking that I'll wake up and find that Ava has gone!" Lily was in tears now, holding her hands to her face. "And what if...What if the same thing happens to...To this baby as well..."

Connie's eyes widened, as she realised that Lily was pregnant again.

"So that's why you were throwing up so much," was the only thing that Connie said. "Lily, we all know that hormones are natural during the time of pregnancy but..."

"It isn't my hormones," Lily defended. "Cal is trying to kidnap my little girl. I...I can't be around him anymore, I just can't. Please Mrs Beauchamp, he needs to leave."

"I am not going to lose a perfectly good doctor," Connie said. "Especially over something as silly and untrue as this."

"It is true!" Lily shouted.

"Lily, calm down," Ben put in. "We're just trying to understand things from your point of view, that's all."

"I just want my husband here," Lily mumbled. "Please."

Connie sighed and subtly exchanged a glance with Ben. She nodded faintly and held her hand out to Lily, who walked over and left the office with her. Connie placed a hand on her shoulder in silence and the two of them headed to resus, where Dylan and Rita were treating a patient with Ethan.

"Doctor Hardy," Connie whispered and Ethan looked over, surprised to see Lily. "Can we have a word?"

Ethan slammed his stethoscope down on the medical trolley and stormed out of resus, his lips pursed and his hands balled into fists. He could hardly look at Lily as the three of them left resus.

"What?" He asked, his head hung.

"They won't believe me," Lily cried. "About...Cal...Trying to take Ava..."

"We never said that!" Connie shouted at her. "We only asked you why."

"Ethan..." Lily whispered. "Talk to me..."

"Why?" Ethan soon looked up and made eye contact with Lily. "Are you finally thinking of telling me the truth?"

"What?" Lily asked at about the same time as Connie. "Ethan," Lily added with tears in her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"The truth about Ava's dad," Ethan elaborated. "When were you thinking of telling me that Cal could be her real father?"

"What is he talking about, Lily?" Connie asked.

"Cal isn't her dad," Lily whispered and hung her head, ignoring Connie's question completely.

"How do you know?" Ethan asked, beginning to choke up. "Have you even taken a DNA test? Do you even know who Ava's dad is?"

"Right," Connie sighed. "I think we need to take this to my office and talk privately, don't you?"

"Do you even understand how I must feel right now?" Ethan cried, his eyes on his wife. "You wanted a child but after you found out about my illness, you slept with Cal so that Ava wouldn't inherit it. Right?"

"That's not true," Lily sobbed. "Ethan, please."

"No, Lily!" Ethan shouted. "I...I might not be her dad, I love her and...She might not even belong to me."

"I don't want to take a test, Ethan," Lily cried. Connie sighed and chewed on the inside of her lip, as she hovered and watched the arguing couple. "I don't want to take a test because in my heart, I know that Ava is yours and more than anything I want her to be yours."

 **I do like my cliffhangers. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been busy and I've recently got into Holby City so was catching up on some old episodes to help me understand it more, haha. I hope you liked the chapter x**


	17. Chapter 17

**CBloom2: Me too and you'll soon see a Cal and Ethan scene, maybe in the next chapter :-)**

 **ETWentHome: Bless him, I do feel sorry for him.**

 **HarryPotterHolbyAndHorses: I really like it so far :-)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: Haha, I can just picture him like that bless him. He can be a little slow. I think Cal just wants to be a bigger part of her life as well, especially if he thinks he is her dad. More drama to come.**

Chapter Seventeen

"You slept with my brother," Ethan hissed and ran his hands down his face. Lily and Ethan were both sat on the sofa in the staffroom, talking privately about the situation. "Can you not see why I'm upset, Lily?" He asked. "You slept with my brother!"

"I know, I know," Lily sighed and anxiously rubbed at her arms. "You said."

"What about this baby, hmm?" Ethan scoffed and diverted his eyes to Lily's stomach. "Is that Cal's as well?"

"No!" Lily shouted at him and shook her head. "Ava doesn't even belong to Cal. I know, okay? I know my daughter and she's you Ethan, she is all you. Trust me."

"What if Ava ends up having Huntington's then?" Ethan asked. "Will she still be mine then?"

"Of course." Lily nodded at him. "Of course she will be."

"I can't help having this illness, you know?" Ethan sobbed, tears trickling down his cheeks. "I wish more than anything in the world that I didn't have it but I do unfortunately and I can't change it. Any kids that I have may inherit it as well Lily and I know that you don't want that! I also know that...That you won't be able to cope when my illness gets worst and I don't want to leave you in charge of being my carer."

"What are you saying?" Lily whispered.

"That I don't blame you if you want to sleep with Cal," Ethan cried. "I don't blame you if you'd rather have Cal's children instead."

"Ethan," Lily sniffed and shook her head at him. "That isn't how I feel at all. I love you, okay? Yes, I...I'm going to find certain things difficult but we'll get through it and we'll get through it together because we love each other."

"I...I just want you to answer me one question," Ethan said. "Why did you do it? Why did you sleep with Cal?"

"To make myself feel better," Lily whispered. "I'll be honest, I...I found your diagnosis difficult to deal with and I...I was getting stressed out over work and Cal was there. He...He made me feel better and we ended up kissing, then...Well, one thing lead to another."

"Is that why he left?" Ethan asked. "Is that why he left and never came back?"

"Maybe." Lily shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, Ethan. I...I think so, I'm really sorry."

"All my life I have been in Cal's shadow," Ethan cried and buried his head in his hands. "He's always been the more popular one, the one who got all the girls and I...I was so happy when I was the one getting married and having kids because I did it all before him. Now...Even you prefer Cal."

"No, I don't." Lily shook her head. "I love you Ethan, and only you."

"Do you really not want to get a paternity test done?" Ethan asked.

"No," Lily sobbed. "Do you want me to get one?"

"I don't know," he whispered. "If...If Ava really is Cal's, I...I don't know if I'll ever be able to live with myself. I probably won't even remember this conversation in a few weeks time, my symptoms are beginning to worsen."

"Hey," Lily comforted and moved closer to Ethan, taking his hand in hers. "I'm there for you, okay? We'll get Ava tested and we'll get through it together. Please forgive me."

"I'm letting it go," Ethan sighed. "For Ava's sake. I honestly don't know if I'll ever forgive you or Cal again though. You just need to give me some space, all right?" Lily nodded, her tears falling harder. "It's just how I feel, Lily. I think I need to keep my distance from Cal as well, I don't want to end up doing something that I'd regret."

"I'm really sorry," Lily whispered.

"I know," Ethan sighed and stood up to leave the room. "You said," he added, before leaving altogether.

Lily stayed on her own for a bit, head in hands, trying to take in what Ethan had said. She sniffed and allowed her tears to fall freely down her face, just as the door opened and Connie walked in with Ava.

"What's she doing here?" Lily asked, sitting up straight and quickly wiping away her tears.

"Her teacher called Ethan earlier," Connie said. "She got upset at school. He asked me to go and fetch her though because he wanted to talk to you."

"Come here princess," Lily said and held her arms out to Ava. Ava chewed on her sleeve and walked over, climbing onto Lily's lap and wrapping her arms around her neck. "What's the matter? Why did you get upset?"

"Just did," Ava whispered softly. "Have you been crying, mummy?"

"Just a little bit," Lily said and kissed Ava's cheek. "But I'm okay now."

"I'm okay now too," Ava said. "I'll go back to school tomorrow."

"Oh honey," Lily said, pulling her close and rubbing her back. "I'm not angry with you, everyone's allowed a little time off once in a while. You stay with mummy, yeah?" Ava nodded, grinning widely from ear to ear. "Now, I have a little question for you. You know daddy isn't well, right?"

"Yes," Ava said. "I remember you telling me."

"That's right," Lily said. "The thing is we may need to do a little test on you to see if you're unwell like daddy. It won't hurt and it's nothing to be scared about and mummy and Aunty Connie will be with you. Will that be okay?"

"Okay mummy," Ava agreed. "Is it like a spelling test?"

"Not quite," Lily laughed. "What we'll have to do is just take a little bit of blood from Ava's arm."

"My blood!" Ava squealed with tears in her eyes.

"Don't be scared," Lily said. "Hey, mummy has had loads of blood tests before especially when she was pregnant with you and especially now that she's pregnant with your little brother or sister. There nothing to be scared of, I promise."

"Okay mummy," Ava said. "I'll do it for you."

"That's my girl," Lily said and kissed her cheek. "Mummy loves you."

"Ava, shall we go and find someone to look after you for a little while?" Connie asked. "Maybe daddy. Your mummy and I just need to talk about something." Ava nodded and shifted off of Lily's lap. "Good girl," Connie praised and took hold of her hand. "We'll talk in a minute, Lily," she said, before taking Ava out.

She didn't take long.

"I've left her with Ethan, is that okay?" Connie asked and sat down next to her. Lily nodded and rubbed at her legs. "Right, did you and Ethan talk?"

"Yeah," Lily choked out with a small nod and wiped her eyes again. "S...Sorry, I...I don't mean to get emotional."

"It's okay," Connie comforted and placed an arm around her shoulder. "It's okay to get upset. It's probably just your baby hormones anyway, eh? Come on, what happened?"

"He...He said that he'd probably never forgive me for...For sleeping with Cal," Lily cried. "But he's...He's going to let it go for now, because of...Of Ava. He doesn't want to get a paternity test done."

"That doesn't seem too bad," Connie said. "You're on good terms."

"He'll never forgive me, Connie," Lily sobbed, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand. "He thinks I did it because of his illness, he doesn't think I love him anymore but I do. I really do."

"Hey, I know you do," Connie whispered gently. "But you do understand why Ethan can't forgive you, right?" Lily started crying harder but she nodded to show that she understood. "It doesn't mean that he'll never forgive you. It'll just take him a while to process what's happened but you two will manage and he's still going to be here for you and the new baby."

"Hmm." Lily nodded.

"Have you had a scan yet?" Connie asked and Lily shook her head. "How about I book one for you? I'm sure Ethan will come along to see his little boy or girl."

"Thank you," Lily whispered. "Is it okay if I take Ava home? I um...I kind of just want to spend some time with my little girl."

"I understand," Connie said and brushed some hair out of Lily's face. "Don't get too stressed and worked up, okay? It isn't good for the baby and you need to put your health first. If you need some time off work, let me know."

"I'll be fine," Lily said. "I don't need time off."

"You don't know that," Connie laughed. "If you do, please let me know." Lily nodded. "Good girl. Go on, go and get Ava and the two of you can head home. Have a good afternoon, yeah?"

"Thanks," Lily said.

"And come and see me tomorrow," Connie said. "And we can chat. All right?" Lily nodded and leaned in to give her a hug. "Everything will be okay," Connie said and Lily nodded, praying that Connie was right.

 **There is Cal and Ethan drama to come in the next chapter. I have deleted Laughter and Tears I'm afraid because I hadn't updated in ages and the two storylines were beginning to merge so this is the one that I'll be sticking with and updating. I hope you enjoyed the chapter :-) x**

 **I've had a rubbish day at work today so updating cheered me up.**


	18. Chapter 18

**sweeet as honey: I prefer this story and I just found the storylines merging so it was kind of pointless keeping both of them. You'll see a different side to Ethan in this chapter and maybe in some future chapters as well. Lily and Ethan are going to stay together for the time being though, for Ethan's sake.**

Chapter Eighteen

Ethan couldn't concentrate properly. He'd never felt like it before, like he'd been punched in the stomach, not even when he was diagnosed with Huntington's. He thought that he was finally happy when he and Lily got married and had Ava, he never in a million years thought that the whole marriage and kids thing would happen to him. But it did and now Cal had ruined it for him, as always. Lily had taken the afternoon off to look after Ava but Ethan still had Cal to try and avoid. It wasn't as easy as it seemed.

"Ethan!" Cal shouted as he followed his brother through the reception area of the ED. "Ethan, I need your help with a patient. Come on man, talk to me. What's happened? Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Ethan asked and turned to face Cal with an angry look on his face. "Am I okay?" He repeated, gritting his teeth and clenching his hands into fists.

"What's happened?" Cal asked him.

Ethan didn't say anything. Instead, he just lunged forwards and punched him straight in the face. Cal stumbled backwards with a hand over his face, yelling out in pain as he quickly gripped the edge of the reception desk.

"Doctor Hardy!" Connie shouted, striding towards the scene. "What on earth do you think you're doing?"

"Just get him out," Ethan threatened. "I don't want him anywhere near me!"

"What the hell have I done?" Cal asked, dramatically holding his arms out.

"Ethan, go and calm yourself down," Connie whispered softly to him. "Now. You are not fit to be working at the moment."

"I hate you, Cal!" Ethan shouted at him. "You slept with my wife! How could you do that to me?" Cal gulped and took a few steps back, hands hidden deep in the pockets of his jeans. "You took the one thing that I was happy about away from me, I'm never going to forgive you for that."

"Ethan..." Cal went to say.

"No." Ethan shook his head and pursed his lips together. "You're not my brother anymore," he said, before storming off to calm himself down.

* * *

"Go on, you can make the tower higher than that," Lily laughed, as she sat back on the floor and watched Ava build a tower out of her different coloured building blocks. "Good girl," Lily praised and clapped her hands together, stopping mid-clap as the front door slammed shut. "Ethan!" She called.

"Just don't talk to me," Ethan muttered and threw his coat over the arm of the sofa.

"What are you doing home so early?" Lily asked, ignoring his angry request.

"Mrs Beauchamp sent me home," he whispered, without looking her in the eye. "I punched Cal."

"What?" Lily gasped. "Ethan, no! I didn't want this to happen. Come on, you have to sort things out between you and your brother."

"I'm going to bed," Ethan sighed.

"It's only the middle of the afternoon," Lily said to him.

"I don't care!" Ethan called over his shoulder as he made his way up the stairs to their bedroom.

"Is daddy okay?" Ava asked, looking at her mother with a worried expression.

"He's just had a bad day at work," Lily whispered, rubbing at her stomach. "He'll be fine. He loves us, doesn't he? And, he loves this baby as well."

"Where is the baby, mummy?" Ava asked.

"Well, I told you didn't I?" Lily said and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's in mummy's tummy."

Ava looked at her for a few seconds and shook her head. "I don't believe you."

"Why?" Lily laughed and frowned at her daughter.

"Because...That...That's really impossible, isn't it mummy?" Ava said, wearily rubbing at her eyes. "It can't be in your tummy because it's a baby. It doesn't make a lot of sense now, does it? Unless you eated it all up for dinner."

Lily chuckled and shook her head. "You'll understand when you're older," she said. "Are you okay to play by yourself for a little bit? Mummy just needs to go and have a little talk with daddy."

"I'll be good," Ava promised.

Lily ruffled her hair and slowly made her way up the stairs. She couldn't hear anything. She gulped and took a deep breath, before walking into their bedroom. Ethan was just lying on the bed reading his Huntington's book. He immediately looked up when Lily entered the room.

"What are you doing?" She whispered and hovered in the doorway.

"Reading that book I ordered," Ethan answered. "The one that you hid from me. What were you even doing, opening my parcels?" Lily was silent. She bit her lip, she'd completely forgot about that. "I don't even know who you are anymore, Lily."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked him.

"You've just become extremely paranoid," Ethan said. "Thinking that Cal is trying to kidnap Ava, opening parcels that are addressed to me. What about this baby, hmm? Are you even pregnant or was that just some clever scheme to keep me hmm?"

"That is not true," Lily said, pointing a finger at him. "I am pregnant!"

"Sorry," Ethan apologised. "We used to be happy though and then I find out that Ava might not even be mine. Look, it's her birthday coming up and we have this baby on the way so like I said, I'll let it go. I just don't know if I'll ever forgive you. Just...Understand that I am more angry with Cal right now."

"How can you let it go though when you have just punched your own brother?" Lily asked. "You work in the same place, Ethan. You're going to see him everyday."

"I'll figure it out," Ethan sighed and closed his book. "I do love you Lily, you...You know that right?" Lily nodded with tears in her eyes. "It just hurt me."

"I know," Lily whispered. "But it was a one time thing and Ava is definitely your daughter. I'd never cheat on you Ethan, I swear. I just...I wasn't in the right frame of mind at that point, Cal was just there."

"Okay," Ethan sighed and ran his hands down his face. "I'm going to get some sleep though, I'm feeling tired."

"Can I get you anything?" Lily asked.

"Not right now," he said. "I'll come downstairs later. Maybe we can um...Plan Ava's birthday party when she's gone to bed or something."

"I'd like that," Lily agreed, knowing that that would make them feel like a proper family again. She went to walk out of the room but stopped. "Ethan," she said, before leaving. "I love you too."

But Ethan didn't answer her as he'd already had enough for one day.

 **Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I really wanted to get the next chapter written but work was really busy and then I had my singing and drama class in the evening.**


	19. Chapter 19

**CBloom2: Haha, it isn't like him at all but I can understand why he did it.**

 **sweeet-as-honey: I always love reading your reviews, thank you for spending the time to write such lovely comments. I like Ava's personality, she's the perfect mix of Lily and Ethan.**

Chapter Nineteen

Lily wanted to make sure that Ava had the best birthday ever. She'd been struggling at school quite a lot and it would be her last birthday as an only child anyway, so she definitely wanted her to have a fun time. She'd invited everyone from Ava's class round, hired a magician and a bouncy castle and had made a whole range of sandwiches. Most of the kids had had clowns for their parties but she'd had a massive fear of them from a young age so that was a big no.

"Mummy!" Ava squealed, running into the kitchen as Lily got the party food ready. She was wearing a blue and silver Princess Elsa dress, something that Lily and Ethan had bought for her. The funny thing was, was that she was also wearing her bright pink converse so the outfit didn't really go together. "Can you come on the bouncy castle with me and Ashley?"

"In a minute, sweetie," Lily laughed. "Hey, why don't we open your presents? You've been waiting so patiently."

"Yes!" Ava yelled and did a fist pump. "On second thoughts, I don't need you on the bouncy castle with me. I'm big now, I can do things by myself."

"I'm sure you can," Lily said and kissed her on the forehead. "Come on, let's go and open those presents hmm? Remember your pleases and thank you's."

Ava nodded and took Lily's hand, dragging her into the garden. Lily lifted her up and blew a raspberry on her cheek before sitting her down on the grass by the present table. Ethan turned off the music and came to stand beside Lily.

"Looks like she's having a good day," he sighed.

"Let's not ruin it, yeah?" Lily whispered, as she watched the kids gather round Ava. "So um...I know you still hate me and everything but can we just try and get along for Ava's sake? It's her special day."

"I don't hate you," Ethan muttered under his breath and walked over to his daughter. "Hey princess," he said, stumbling slightly before kneeling beside her. "You having fun?"

"Yes," Ava giggled.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked and Ethan nodded. "You just fell over."

"I tripped," Ethan sighed and Lily handed the first present to him to give to his daughter. "Here you go beautiful, this is from Ashley." Ava nodded happily and began to tear the pink, princess paper off.

Ava had tonnes of lovely presents, including barbie play-sets, dressing up clothes, stuffed toys, baby dolls and at every single one, she'd remembered to say thank you. Ethan was on lunch duty for the kids and Lily was about to head into the house and prepare the cake when she saw Connie.

"I thought you had work," Lily said.

"My shift is finished," Connie said. "I'm about to go and pick up Grace so I thought I'd drop this off for Ava," she added and handed a neatly wrapped package over to Lily.

"You didn't have to get her anything," Lily mentioned.

"I wanted to," Connie said. "It's Sylvanian Families. Grace loved them as a child."

"That's really thoughtful," Lily said. "I'm sure Ava will love it. She loves little people and furry animals and stuff, thanks Connie."

"So when are you planning to tell everyone about the new baby?" Connie asked her quietly.

"After our scan," Lily said.

Connie had managed to book Lily in for an ultrasound but it wasn't until next Wednesday unfortunately, Ethan had promised to come along and the two of them had both agreed not to tell anyone until they'd seen that the baby was nice and healthy.

"Looks like Ava's having a nice birthday anyway," Connie said. "Grace is too old for parties like this now. It's all shopping trips and sleepovers with her friends, I kind of miss it. Have you and Ethan spoken much?"

"He's been quiet with me," Lily whispered. "We're trying to stay civil with each other today, for Ava's sake."

"You two can have a chat now if you want to," Connie offered. "I don't mind staying with the kids."

"I don't know if it's really fair to leave you in charge of a bunch of twenty five and six year olds," Lily laughed.

"I don't mind," Connie said. "If you want to have a chat with Ethan, go and do it now. I'll look after the kids, besides they're only having food aren't they? I'll be fine, Lily."

Lily nodded thankfully at her and glanced across at her husband who was already making his way over. "Can um...Can we talk in the kitchen?" Lily whispered and Ethan nodded. "Connie said that she'd watch the kids."

"Sure," Ethan sighed and followed Lily into the house. "So, what do you need to talk to me about then? It's Ava's birthday, I kind of didn't want an argument."

"I don't want us to have an argument either," Lily said. "But you wanted to be on good terms and I'm sorry since you found out about me and Cal, it hasn't felt like that. You've hardly spoken to me."

"Well excuse me for being upset," Ethan scoffed. "You need to give me some time to take it all in, Lily."

"Yes but stop being upset on our daughter's birthday for crying out loud," Lily hissed. "I am trying to make it a nice day for her and you have just been miserable. She's going to notice, Ethan. She isn't stupid!"

"Would you keep your voice down?" Ethan hissed.

"Hate me as much as you like, okay?" Lily asked. "But do not take it out on our daughter."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Ethan asked through gritted teeth. "I don't hate you and that's the worst thing!"

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"I want to hate you," Ethan cried. "I want to hate you with all my guts because you slept with my brother but I don't, I love you more than anything because you're my wife and THAT is what I hate. MYSELF for...For still loving you."

"Daddy..." A small voice whispered and Lily and Ethan both glanced across at Ava who was standing in the doorway. Tears shone in her eyes and she held her thumb in her mouth, a terrified look on her face.

"Ava," Ethan whispered and shook his head. "Ava, sweetheart..." But before he could continue, Ava fled the kitchen.

* * *

Lily found Ava sitting on the edge of the bouncy castle, chewing on the sleeve of the Princess Elsa dress. Lily sighed and perched next to her, a hand on her small baby bump. She smiled and tucked a curly strand of Ava's hair behind her ear, noticing her tear stained cheeks.

"Hey princess, talk to mummy," Lily said. "Daddy didn't mean to shout. He was just upset."

"With you," Ava whispered in a small, choked up voice.

"Yeah," Lily sighed. "With me. Not with you though. What did you hear?" Ava gave a tiny shrug. "Princess, mummy isn't going to be cross with you. What did you hear?"

"That...That daddy hates you..." Ava choked out. "That you went to sleep with Uncle Cal." Lily chewed her lip and let out a heavy sigh. "Why did you go to sleep with Uncle Cal? Were you lonely?"

"Um...Y...Yes..." Lily stuttered.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Ava asked. Lily stifled a giggle and gave a small nod. "But you sleep with daddy, daddy always helps nightmares."

"I um...I guess daddy wasn't there at the time," Lily said.

"Oh." Ava hung her head. "And now daddy is upset with you." Lily nodded. "Don't cry mummy, you have me," Ava said with a huge grin and took hold of Lily's hand. "I'm not upset with you."

"Thank you gorgeous," Lily said and gave her a kiss. "And listen, daddy did not mean to shout okay? He loves you and me, just because we had a tiny argument it does not mean that we don't love each other anymore and it does not mean that we love you any less. Do you understand?" Ava nodded. "Good girl. I'd like you to give daddy a big hug later because I think he's a bit upset with himself now for shouting. He's your dad, you mean the world to him."

"Okay mummy," Ava agreed. "Can you come on the bouncy castle with me now?"

"Sure," Lily chuckled. "Come on." She stood up and lifted Ava onto the bouncy castle before climbing up there herself. "You can jump higher than that, can't you?" Lily laughed. "Come on, impress me."

"I can jump very high!" Ava squealed, holding her arms up above her head.

"Lily, do be careful," Connie said, walking over and popping her head through the hole in the castle. "The baby," she then warned.

"Don't worry," Lily reassured her. "I'll do mini bounces."

"Yes, mummy can do mini bounces," Ava repeated.

"Can I tell you something?" Connie asked. "Even though I'm going to find it extremely difficult having a conversation with you through the entrance of a bouncy castle."

"Sure," Lily said, continuing to bounce whilst holding her daughter's hand.

"When you first started at the ED..." Connie began to speak. "If someone had asked me that a few years later you'll be laughing and spending your Saturday bouncing up and down on a bouncy castle, I would have never believed them."

 **Hope you liked the chapter x**


	20. Chapter 20

**ETWentHome: Same here and thank you, I thought it was a good way to end the chapter.**

 **sweeet-as-honey: Thanks and me too, I'd like to see that side to her more in the show. His symptoms are going to become worst unfortunately.**

Chapter Twenty

"Mum, why couldn't Matilda come to my birthday?" Ava asked, as Lily got her daughter ready for school. "I missed her, she's my best friend." Lily sighed and slipped Ava's t-shirt over her head, not quite knowing what to say. "Mum?" Ava questioned. "Is it because you and Uncle Cal slept with each other?"

"Well..." Lily went to say. "She was probably busy with her daddy, sweetheart. I'm sure that wasn't the reason at all. You had all your little school friends though, didn't you?" Ava nodded, looking disappointed. "Come on," Lily said. "Let's go and have some breakfast."

She took hold of Ava's hand and the two of them headed downstairs to the kitchen. They were greeted by the smell of bacon and Lily saw that Ethan was standing over the cooker frying some bacon and eggs.

"Hey," he said. "I um...I thought that I'd make us all a cooked breakfast.

"Daddy!" Ava squealed and rushed to hug him, remembering what Lily had said at her birthday party.

"Hey princess," Ethan chuckled and ruffled her hair.

"Oh my god," Lily said. Her face turned and she suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth before rushing out of the kitchen.

"Lily!" Ethan called. He grabbed hold of the pan, quickly slapped the bacon and eggs onto a couple of plates, turned the cooker off and raced out after Lily. "Back in a second, Ava!" He shouted and hurried into the bathroom where he was met by the sight of Lily throwing up into the toilet. "Lils. Is...Is my cooking really that bad?"

"Sorry," Lily apologised and wiped at her mouth, before wearily flushing the toilet. "The...The smell of bacon just...It made me feel sick."

"That'll be the baby," Ethan sighed. "Do you remember that when you were pregnant with Ava, you...You couldn't stand the smell of coffee."

"Hmm," Lily groaned and gave him a weak smile. "Um...You...You didn't have to cook us breakfast this morning."

"I know," Ethan said. "But I wanted to. Look, we don't have to have bacon so I'll do us some toast yeah?"

"You don't need to do that," Lily laughed and leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

"I'm sorry about what I said, okay?" Ethan said. "Especially at Ava's birthday. I don't really want to hate you, you're my wife and I love you. The last thing you need at the moment is stress and I don't want to cause you that. And um...I really didn't want Ava to hear any of that."

"I know you didn't," Lily said. "But I explained it to her the best I could, she's too young to understand properly Ethan and she loves you so much. I want us to be a proper family, I don't want Cal to break us up."

"I don't want that either," Ethan whispered. "I know you're probably angry with me but...Can we try and put this behind us? We have our first scan on Wednesday and I'd really like to come along and see our baby."

"Of course," Lily agreed. "Come on, um...I'll try and hold my breath and pray that the bacon doesn't make me throw up again."

Ethan laughed and placed an arm round her as they headed back to the kitchen. Ava was sat at the table and she'd already demolished the rashers of bacon.

"Well," Lily chuckled and looked to Ethan. "That's sorted then."

* * *

"Ethan, where's Lily?" Connie asked, walking over to him at work. "Is she okay? I was hoping to be having a chat with her today."

"She's fine," Ethan sighed. "She's not feeling well again though. I thought that I'd treat her to a cooked breakfast this morning but I didn't realise that the smell of bacon made her throw up. Since then, she...She's just been feeling sick so I suggested that she stayed home. She really did want to come to work though."

"No, I'm sure she did," Connie said. "But maybe you should be at home with her."

"But that would leave you really short staffed," Ethan told her.

"We can spare you," Connie sighed. "We're not that busy today but Lily is pregnant with your child so I think it's a good idea if you stay home and take care of her. She's going to be feeling like crap, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Ethan chuckled.

"Are the two of you on good terms now?" Connie asked and Ethan nodded. "Good, I'm glad to hear it," Connie said and rubbed his arm. "She really does love you and with another baby on the way, you two need to kiss and make up."

"We have done," Ethan said. "Thanks Mrs Beauchamp."

"Go on," Connie said. "I'll see you both tomorrow. Send my love to Lily."

Ethan promised that he would and walked off, bumping into his brother on the way.

"Go away, Cal," Ethan muttered and shoved him to one side.

"This is for Ava," Cal said and handed him a bag with 'Happy Birthday' written all over it, completely ignoring his request. "Her birthday present and card, sorry it's late."

"Keep it," Ethan said.

"Isn't she going to wonder why she hasn't had a present from her own uncle?" Cal asked. "Come on, you wouldn't let me come to her party."

"It was for Ava's friends only," Ethan said.

"Didn't Connie pop by?" Cal asked. "And excuse me but isn't Matilda her friend?"

"School friends!" Ethan corrected him. "Just take the present and go away, I need to get home to Lily."

"So you two are speaking then?" Cal asked.

"Yes," Ethan replied and just walked away without another word.

* * *

Lily was curled up on the sofa under a blanket. The TV was on but she was asleep. Ethan sighed and hung his coat up before sitting at one end of the sofa, he moved Lily's head so she was resting against his lap and gave her hair a gentle stroke.

"Is it that time already?" Lily mumbled without opening her eyes.

"No," Ethan sighed. "Connie sent me home early to be with you. How are you feeling?"

"Sick," she said, eventually opening her eyes so that she could look at Ethan. "Thanks for asking."

"Maybe you should get checked out," Ethan said. "You might be able to get a pill or something for the sickness."

"Maybe," Lily sighed, diverting her eyes to the TV.

"I can't wait to see our baby," Ethan said, reaching out and giving Lily's stomach a rub. "Would you like a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know," Lily replied. "Girls are nice because you can dress them in pretty dresses and take them shopping but one of each could be quite nice. How about you?"

"I don't mind," Ethan said. "Just as long as the baby is nice and healthy."

"Everyone says that," Lily laughed. "But they still have a preference."

"Fine, I'd probably like a boy," Ethan said. "Then I'd hope that he turns out like me."

"He'll be very lucky if he does," Lily said. "Can I ask you a question, Ethan? Without causing an argument?"

"What's up?" Ethan asked, continuing to gently massage her stomach.

"Would you mind if we get Ava tested for Huntington's?" Lily asked. "I know we said we would but we haven't really had a proper conversation about it and I'd just like your opinion first. I don't mind that you've got it and I wouldn't mind if Ava did but I'd like to know so I can prepare and work out how to help her."

"No, I'd like to know as well," Ethan whispered. "I suppose it would be a good idea. Look, will you be at work tomorrow?"

"I'm planning to be," Lily said. "I hate having time off."

"Well, I'll give Connie a ring," Ethan said. "And we can see if we can book Ava in for a blood test tomorrow morning or something? She can take the day off school and then I'll take the afternoon off and we can go to the park or something?"

"Whilst I work?" Lily scoffed and said sarcastically, "thanks."

"You just said you hate having time off," Ethan said. "Besides, I want to spend some quality time with my daughter."

"You believe she's yours now then?" Lily asked.

"Yes," Ethan answered after a bit of hesitation.

But honestly, he still wasn't sure.


	21. Chapter 21

**CBloom2: There's a question, he may forgive him or he may not.**

 **sweeet-as-honey: Haha, I love it in the morning. I do feel sorry for Cal as well, bless him and I'm glad you liked that. I quite enjoyed writing the scene.**

Chapter Twenty One

Ava let out a cry of detest, throwing her little arms around in the air. Lily held her tightly on her lap, keeping her arms around her waist to try and stop her from struggling. Tears pricked her eyes as she tried not to let it get to her, it was awful seeing her little girl in that much distress. Ethan offered to take over because Ava was struggling quite a bit and he didn't want her to kick Lily in the stomach, Lily just shook her head though because she could sense that Ethan was getting upset. He blamed himself, she knew he did.

"Ava, princess," Lily soothed. "Come on, it won't hurt. Hold mummy's hand, yeah?" Ava sniffed and nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away though and squeezed her mum's hand. "That's my brave girl."

"Good girl, Ava," Connie praised as she rolled up her sleeve and got the needle ready. "You are doing so well. Did you have a good birthday?"

"Yes," Ava whispered, leaning against Lily's chest.

"What was your best present?" Connie asked. "Do you remember?"

"My Princess Elsa dress from mummy and daddy," Ava said.

"Wow," Connie gasped, as she inserted the needle into Ava's arm. "Is Princess Elsa your favourite princess?" Ava nodded, keeping her eyes away from the needle. "I like her too. There you go poppet, all done now."

"Done?" Ava asked, looking to Connie as she dabbed at her arm with some cotton wool. "I didn't feel that!" She laughed.

"Yeah, you were very brave," Connie said. "What plaster would you like? I have racing stripes, ponies..."

"Ponies!" Ava squealed.

"Here you go," Connie said and stuck the plaster onto her arm. "Now, I might have a set of stickers somewhere as well. I think you deserve one for being such a big, brave girl." She opened a drawer and brought out a strip of stickers. She then stuck one on Ava's t-shirt, it read 'I was brave' and had a huge smiley face dressed up as a doctor. "So is it back to school for you then?"

"No." Ethan shook his head. "She has a day off, I um...I'm going to take her to the park for the afternoon."

"Wow. Fun day with daddy, eh?" Connie said, as Ava slid off of Lily's lap and jumped down. "You deserve it, well done."

"Did I do well, mummy?" Ava asked, holding Lily's hand.

"You did very well indeed," Lily said and kissed her on the forehead. "Mummy's very proud of you. Good girl."

"Come on then Ava," Ethan sighed and held out his hand. "Let's go to the park, yeah? We could have some ice-cream and maybe even stop for a McDonalds on the way home."

"Ethan, are you okay?" Lily whispered.

"Fine," Ethan whispered back. "It's just my fault, isn't it? If I didn't have this stupid disease, Ava would never have to get tested."

"Ethan, don't say that," Connie said sympathetically.

"It isn't your fault at all," Lily added. "These things just happen."

"Come on princess," Ethan sighed and rubbed Ava's back. "Let's get going."

* * *

Ethan and Ava seemed to be the only ones at the park. There was a couple of dog walkers but apart from that, the place seemed to be deserted. Of course it was a weekday so most people were probably at work and school. One of Ethan's favourite memories though was his dad taking him out of school for the day to do something special and fun. He wanted a day where he could do that with his daughter.

"Are you ready to get down?" Ethan asked, as he finished pushing Ava on the swings.

Ava nodded her head and allowed Ethan to pick her up and place her on the grass.

"Where to next?" Ethan asked.

"The big slide!" Ava yelled and pointed to the slide in the corner of the park. "I'll race you, daddy!"

Ethan smiled as Ava raced off towards the slide. He stumbled a bit and cursed quietly to himself. He only had one thing on his mind at that point, would Ava be diagnosed with Huntington's as well? He couldn't let that happen to his little girl.

"Come on daddy!" Ava shouted.

"I'm coming!" He yelled and picked up a fast pace. "Hey, you beat me," he chuckled once he had reached Ava. "You little monkey."

"I'm fast, right?" Ava smiled at him.

"You are," Ethan said and leant down to ruffle her hair. Just as he did so, he fell to the floor and yelled out in pain. "Fuck!" He shouted without thinking.

"Daddy!" Ava yelled, tears filling her eyes. "Daddy! Are you okay?"

"Go...Away!" He shouted, clenching his teeth together as pain shot through his body.

"Daddy, please get up," Ava sobbed and began biting on her nails. "Please. I...I don't know what to do..."

"Just...Ring mummy," he gasped, having a feeling that he'd broken his arm. "Ow!"

Ava knelt down on the grass and picked up Ethan's phone that had fallen out of his pocket. "Daddy, I don't know what to do," Ava cried. "I can't read." She began crying harder and harder.

"Come...Here..." Ethan gasped and took his phone from Ava, fumbling around with the buttons with his good hand. He found Lily's mobile number and handed it back to Ava. "Just talk to mummy."

"Mummy?" Ava asked when she heard Lily's familiar voice on the other end of the phone.

"Ava?" Lily asked. "Where's daddy?"

"Daddy's fallen over," Ava said to her. "I don't know what to do. I'm scared, mummy."

"Okay baby, where are you?" Lily asked.

"At the park," Ava said.

"Are you okay to stay there with daddy?" Lily asked. "Mummy won't be long, I will be right there."

"Yes mummy," Ava agreed.

"That's my brave girl."

When Ava was off the phone to Lily, she crawled along to Ethan and held his hand. She sniffed and let her tears fall as she kissed her dad's cheek. "Are you okay daddy?" She asked and Ethan nodded, not wanting to scare his little girl. "I love you, daddy," Ava said. "You're the best daddy in the world."


	22. Chapter 22

**sweeet-as-honey: Yeah exactly and Ava was very brave for her age bless her. It is unfortunately but you'll soon see what happens.**

Chapter Twenty Two

"How's your arm?" Rita asked as she fixed Ethan up. Ethan just faintly nodded and winced as he moved his arm slightly. He'd broken it after his fall and it had been put in a cast for a while. "It'll hurt for a bit but just take things easy," Rita said.

"Thank you," Ethan whispered and glanced across at Lily who was stood by the door with Ava in her arms. Ava looked terrified and held her thumb in her mouth for comfort. Lily soon moved out of the way as the door opened and Connie walked in.

"How are you doing?" Connie asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Fine," Ethan sighed. "Apart from a broken arm. It could have been worst I suppose."

"Yeah it could have been," Connie said. "What caused this, do you think?"

"I just fell." Ethan shrugged his shoulders.

"Ethan, we need to talk about what we're going to do," Connie said. "Your symptoms are obviously getting worst and..."

"Don't!" Ethan cut her off with an anger tone. "Don't you dare, I...I just want to get on with my life okay? I just want to work and spend time with my family."

"You were meant to be looking after her!" Lily shouted. "Anything could have happened, Ethan!"

"Lily, don't," Connie said gently. "He can't help it. Come on, let's go and chat." Lily sighed and nodded, chewing on her lip whilst glaring across at Ethan. "Ethan, do you want me to send Cal in?"

Ethan thought about it for a second before shaking his head. "No," he whispered. "I don't want to speak to him."

Connie sighed and nodded, hating the fact that the two brothers were arguing. She placed a hand on Lily's back and led her out, leading her towards the office. Lily held Ava tightly in her arms and gave her a kiss on the cheek to let her know that things were okay. Ava smiled at that and kissed Lily back.

"Don't take it out on him, okay?" Connie said, once they were in the office. "He can't help being ill."

"I'm just scared," Lily admitted in a quiet voice. "It's obvious that he's getting worst and we have a baby on the way and then there's Ava and..."

"Here," Connie said and picked up a leaflet from her desk. She scanned it over and handed it to Lily. "Why don't you have a little read of that, hmm?"

"How to deal with Huntington's?" Lily questioned, as she read the front of the leaflet. "Are you giving one to Ethan as well?"

"No." Connie shook her head. "Because I think secretly that you're the one who's struggling the most. Besides, that leaflet was created to help friends and family cope with someone who has the disease."

"This baby will be due in like...What? Six months?" Lily asked. "What if he's in a wheelchair by then? What if he can barely speak? What if he can no longer take care of his kids?"

"Those are all what ifs," Connie said. "You have plenty of time to prepare and you love Ethan so I know you're going to manage. Trust me."

"Is daddy really sick, mummy?" Ava asked.

"Yes sweetheart," Lily sighed and sat down on a chair, keeping Ava on her lap. "But we'll help him."

"Ethan's trying to just live his life whilst he can," Connie said. "Which is why he doesn't want to have a paternity test done."

"Really?" Lily asked.

"Yes." Connie nodded. "He loves Ava and he wants to be her dad, he knows that in maybe ten years time he won't be able to look after her that much so he wants to remain her dad whilst he can."

"You're right," Lily said. "I guess I never really thought about that."

"The two of you just need to start living in the moment," Connie said. "Spend what time you have with each other wisely." Lily nodded. "And let's start with your first scan, shall we?"

* * *

Wednesday came round fast and Lily and Ethan were both extremely excited about their scan. Lily was nervous as well though, scared that they might find something wrong with the baby but Ethan kept reassuring her that everything would be fine.

"I'm scared," Lily whispered, as she lay on the bed with her t-shirt rolled up a little.

"It'll be okay," Ethan said, clutching Lily's hand with his good arm.

"Thanks," Lily thanked him with a small smile and turned to Mr T. "Come on then, let's get this over and done with."

"Patience," he chuckled, as he got the machine ready. "Now, this is going to be a little cold."

"I know the drill," Lily sighed and did a small eye-roll as he squirted the gel onto her stomach. "That's freezing!" Lily hissed.

"I told you," Mr T laughed and kept his eyes on the machine. "Well, everything looks fine with baby. I can't see any problems so everything seems good."

"Are...Are you sure?" Lily stuttered. "I mean, you would tell us if there was something wrong right? Can you even tell if anything is wrong at this stage?"

"Relax, Lily," Mr T said. "Everything is perfect, I promise you. Would you like a scan photo to take away with you?" Lily nodded. "I'll get one printed off for you both. Ava must be excited."

"I think she is," Lily said. "I don't know if she fully understands yet though."

"I'm sure she does," Ethan laughed and kept hold of Lily's hand. "She's a smart girl."

"Right, here you are," Mr T said and handed Lily her photo of the baby. "Have you told people yet?" Lily shook her head, suddenly remembering that only some of the staff knew about their pregnancy news. "Most people tend to wait until they've had their first scan. Best of luck, yeah? Come and see me if you do have any concerns or problems."

Lily had been terrified about telling people when she first found out that she was pregnant with Ava. Somehow she didn't feel as scared the second time, she guessed that it was because her and Ethan were like a proper family and most people were probably expecting them to have another child at some point in the future. Besides Ava was six now and they had had plenty of time to settle down and prepare.

"Okay everyone, Ethan and Lily have an announcement to make," Connie said, gathering everyone around the reception desk.

"Are you getting a divorce already?" Dylan joked.

"Um...No..." Ethan laughed awkwardly. "No um...Completely the opposite of that actually..." He gulped anxiously and placed an arm around his wife's shoulder. Cal bit his lip and hung his head. "We're having a baby," he announced and placed a hand on Lily's stomach.

"Really?" Rita's eyes widened. "Ava's going to be a big sister. That's amazing!"

"We already knew," Alicia bragged, gesturing to her and Robyn.

"Well um...Con...Congratulations..." Dylan stuttered and shrugged his shoulders. "Well done. I...I guess."

"Yeah." Lily smiled at the staff. "We're really excited but it'll mean more leave when the baby comes so you guys better start pulling your weight."

"Well," Rita sighed and looked over her shoulder at Connie. "That was almost a nice moment."

"So..." Cal walked over to Lily with his hands in his pockets and said, "everyone knows about the baby then. That's one secret out of the bag."

"Shut up," Lily hissed and looked across at Ethan who'd walked over to speak to Robyn and Alicia. "Ethan doesn't have a lot of time until his symptoms really start to kick in, we want to make the most of it so if you cannot handle that then maybe you and Matilda should go back to Bournemouth."

"We're not going anywhere," Cal said. "Look, if Ava's results come back as positive then I'm sorry but at least you'll know that Ethan is her dad. If, however, it comes back as negative then I think you're going to need to look at getting a paternity test done."

"No." Lily shook her head. "Ethan needs me, we're having this baby and we're happy. I'm not going to let you drag me down anymore Caleb, you're Ava's uncle and Matilda is her cousin but...That's all. I'm happy with my life and it's going to stay that way. End of discussion."

 **Hope you enjoyed it. Things will start speeding up a bit now that everyone knows Lily is pregnant. So who spotted Ethan's appearance in tonight's episode of Holby City? Loved it, haha :-) x**


	23. Chapter 23

**ETWentHome: It was a good idea. We'll soon see what happens, you'll probably find out the result in the next chapter :-)**

Chapter Twenty Three

Lily and Ethan had quite a difficult couple of months. Although Cal had been staying away and only coming round so that Ava and Matilda could see each other and that Ethan could see his brother, Lily's pregnancy had been difficult and Ethan's symptoms had continued. She'd been constantly throwing up and spent most of her days lying in bed with a sick bowl next to her, Connie had booked her in for an appointment to see if she could get her a pill or something for the sickness. It wasn't just that though, Ava's behaviour had become severely bad at school and at home.

"Maybe it's the new baby," Alicia suggested, as she and Lily sat in the living room with a cup of tea and a cake that Lily had bought from the supermarket.

It was just the two of them. Ethan had gone round to Cal's place to watch a football game on TV and he'd taken Ava so that she could play with Matilda for a couple of hours.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked with a mouthful of cake.

"Well, you're...Five months now?" Alicia took a wild guess.

"Six," Lily corrected her.

"Six," Alicia repeated. "The point is you're showing, it's getting nearer the time so you and Ethan have probably started preparing so maybe she's feeling a little bit jealous and a little bit left out. It's what happens when a child's parents suddenly have a new baby."

"I was expecting that to happen eventually," Lily said. "But not until the baby actually came."

"What's she been doing anyway?" Alicia questioned.

"Well I've had to have constant chats with her teacher," Lily said. "She's been hurting other children, refusing to do work, throwing toys around and she's exactly the same at home as well. Ethan and I both had to deal with a massive screaming fit from her the other day, in public might I add."

"Have you had her results back yet?" Alicia asked. "About Huntingtons?"

"Not yet," Lily sighed and had a sip of her tea.

"Well, it's been quite a while," Alicia said. "Months. Shouldn't you be chasing it up?"

"I will do," Lily said. "I haven't had a chance to talk to Connie yet. You don't think that could be the reason, do you?"

"No," Alicia said. "I was just wondering. You hadn't said much about it."

"Can you keep a secret?" Lily whispered and Alicia nodded. "Ava might belong to Cal. Before I...I got pregnant and before Cal left, I was upset and Cal and I slept together accidentally. Ethan knows but we're putting it on hold for the moment because of Ava and the new baby and everything."

"Lily," Alicia gasped.

"Yeah," Lily sighed. "And Cal is certain that Ava is his daughter. The thing is, if...If Ava does have a chance of having Huntingtons then...Well, I'd hate it but at least she'll be Ethan's. If she doesn't, there's a bigger chance that she could be Cal's."

"And you haven't had a DNA test done or anything?" Alicia asked and Lily shook her head. "Of course she's Ethan's daughter," she said convincingly. "She's Ethan all over."

"Do you think so?" Lily asked and she nodded. "Thanks. Hmm, baby doesn't agree with tea." She grimaced and put her mug down on the table, whilst rubbing her stomach.

"You were fine earlier," Alicia giggled.

"Yeah," Lily groaned, shifting to a more comfortable position. "I can't keep anything down at the moment, everything just makes me want to vomit including bacon which is a real shame."

"That is a real shame," Alicia said. "I love a good bacon sandwich."

"Oh don't." Lily shook her head. "Even talking about it makes me feel ill."

"Bless ya," Alicia said and reached out to give her shoulder a rub.

"Just get up those stairs and go to your room!" They suddenly heard shouting and the front door slammed shut. "Now! I am not happy at all!"

"Ethan!" Lily called, sitting upright as Ethan came into the room. "What happened? Where's Ava?"

"I sent her to her room," he sighed and threw the keys down onto the coffee table. "I've had enough of her."

"Try not to lose your temper with her," Lily said. "What has she done?"

"She pushed Matilda over and pulled her hair," Ethan said. "And then she went and shouted at Cal before kicking him. He got her some ice-cream but apparently it wasn't the right kind."

Lily sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I...I'll go and talk to her."

"No," Ethan ordered and shook his head, before leaning down and kissing her temple. "I don't want you under any stress. I'll have a word with her later on, I promise."

"Why don't I go and talk to her?" Alicia asked. "Come on, she likes me and she might tell me stuff that she doesn't want to tell her mum and dad. May I?" Lily looked to Ethan who gave a small nod. "I won't be long," she said and placed her cup of tea down before heading upstairs.

Ava was sitting cross legged on her bed running a brush through the hair of one of her barbie dolls.

"Hey Ava, what are you doing?" Alicia asked, sitting on the end of the bed. Ava gave a small shrug. "Can I play too?" Alicia asked.

"You can have this dolly," Ava said, picking up another doll and handing it over to Alicia. "Is daddy cross with me?"

"A little bit," Alicia said. "Why did you push Matilda and shout at Uncle Cal?"

"I was angry," Ava whispered.

"Well you can't hurt people if you're angry," Alicia said and gave her a small smile. "It isn't nice. Can I ask you a little something?" Ava nodded. "Are you upset about this new baby? Because you don't need to be, you know? Mummy and daddy will still love you lots and lots."

"A little bit," Ava said and stopped brushing her doll's hair. "But there is other stuff."

"What other stuff?" Alicia asked.

"Um...I...I have a lot going on, don't I?" Ava asked with a really serious face.

Alicia nodded and laughed, "yes you do but you can tell me."

"I'm worried about mummy and daddy," Ava said quietly.

"Why?" Alicia asked. "Why are you worried about them?"

"Because daddy isn't well," Ava cried and held her hands to her face. "And mummy hasn't been spending a lot of time with me."

"Hey, come here you silly girl," Alicia said and pulled her into her lap. "Daddy will be absolutely fine, okay? And mummy has just been a little pre-occupied lately. She's also been worrying about your dad but she's also getting ready for the new baby."

"I don't want daddy to die," Ava sobbed. "My friend Harriet's daddy was very sick and he died last week and Harriet was very sad."

"Hey," Alicia said, feeling close to tears herself. "Your dad is going to be fine, okay? Listen, mummy and daddy don't like this bad behaviour and you have nothing to be worried about. If you're upset, talk to mummy. That's what mummies are for, they make everything better again."

Ava sniffed and leant against Alicia's chest with her thumb in her mouth.

"You're a special little girl, Ava," Alicia said and kissed her cheek. "Mummy and daddy love you very much and no matter what happens to daddy, I know that he will always love you and that you will make him proud. Okay?"

"Okay," Ava whispered and wiped at her watery eyes.

"Hey, I know what'll cheer you up," Alicia said. "How about you and I spend the day together this weekend? There's this Saturday stage school and I thought you might want to try it out."

"Really?" Ava asked. "To dance and sing?"

"If that's what you want to do," Alicia said. "Consider it a girly day with just the two of us. Would you like that?"

"Yes," Ava said. "Thank you Aunty Alicia."

"You're welcome, honey," Alicia said. "But no more of this bad behaviour, yeah? Is that a deal?" Ava nodded. "Good girl," Alicia praised and gave her another hug. "And you remember what I said, okay?"

"Yes," Ava said. "Make daddy proud."

 **I got a bit emotional writing this :-) let me know what you think x**


	24. Chapter 24

**Jynx999: Thanks. I'll admit that it's been one of my favourites to write :-)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: It can be, I'm twenty one and I still struggle to talk to my mum and dad lol. I love Alicia in this story especially the cute** **relationship between her and Ava. She is like an aunt to that little girl. I also love protective Ethan, it's so adorable to write as well.**

Chapter Twenty Four

Connie had an admin day scheduled, her paperwork had been piling up so much lately and she'd finally found the time to sort through it. She very rarely had time for paperwork, she was often called into resus to help with a patient because of the staff shortages they'd had. She was halfway through when someone knocked at the door before opening it. It was Lily so she wasn't too fussed about being disturbed.

"Lily, what are you doing in work?" Connie asked. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I'm not staying," Lily whispered and shut the door behind her. "I wanted to ask you about the results of Ava's test. It's been ages and...I...I'd just like to know whether it's positive already."

"Well I didn't want to stress you out," Connie said.

"So you know?" Lily asked. "You've got the result already."

"I don't know the result because I haven't opened it," Connie sighed and opened her drawer. She took out the envelope and handed it over to Lily. "But you've been under a lot of stress lately, I didn't want to go and make things worst for you."

"I don't know if I can do it," Lily said but Connie gave her an encouraging nod. Lily took a deep breath and opened up the envelope. She placed the envelope on Connie's desk and opened up the piece of paper.

"Well?" Connie asked, unable to read Lily's expression.

"Negative," Lily whispered, as she kept her eyes on the paper. "She doesn't have the gene."

"Well that's good, isn't it?" Connie said.

"I don't know," Lily said and gulped, before making eye contact with Connie. "I'm pleased that she doesn't have it but...Well, it also means that she could be Cal's daughter."

"Not necessarily," Connie said. "She could still belong to Ethan. Why don't you get a paternity test done, Lily? At least then you'll know for sure."

"I can't," Lily whispered. "Besides, Ethan doesn't want one done. I...I think he prefers not knowing, maybe things are better that way."

"Well, only you can make that decision," Connie said. "How's the sickness?"

"Still there," Lily sighed and managed a small smile. "I may have to go ahead with that pill you mentioned. It's not been fun and Ava's been getting upset when I don't play with her."

"How's she been lately?" Connie asked. "Is her behaviour any better?"

"A little actually," Lily said. "I don't know what she said to her but Alicia talked to her and since then Ava has been a lot happier and a lot more well behaved. She's like Nanny McPhee."

"Who?" Connie frowned.

"Nanny McPhee," Lily repeated. "It's a film about this magical nanny, have you never seen it?"

"Have you been drinking?" Connie joked. "Sounds like a whole load of rubbish to me."

"It's okay," Lily laughed. "I wouldn't say it's the best film in the world. I wanted to ask you something by the way."

"Go ahead," Connie said.

"Well when I have the baby, obviously Ethan is going to be there but I was wondering if you would as well if that's okay?" Lily asked. "You've been a great help with everything and I'd really appreciate that."

"Are you sure about that?" Connie asked and Lily nodded. "Of course I will, I'll be more than happy to be there."

"Thank you," Lily thanked her shyly and smiled. "Anyway, am I okay to go home? Sorry but I did throw up again this morning, I wanted to come and ask you about Ava's results though."

"It is absolutely fine, Lily," Connie said. "I know you haven't been well. Maybe you should go on early Maternity Leave."

"No," Lily immediately answered and shook her head. "Not happening. I'll be bored stiff, I'll have the rest of the week off to help ease the sickness but then I will continue to work. I'll be working when the baby is halfway down the birth canal, okay?" And she snapped Connie a smile before heading out of the office.

"Suit yourself," Connie muttered under her breath and got on with her paperwork.

* * *

"Dad," Matilda said as she sat in the living room and did her homework that evening. "Our teacher wants us to draw a picture of our family tree but I don't know what to draw." Cal sighed and sat down next to her to see what she had done so far. "Can I draw mum?"

"Well, she's your family isn't she?" Cal said and stroked her hair. "You have to draw her."

"And you as well," Matilda said. "What about Uncle Ethan and Aunty Lily and Ava?"

"Them as well," Cal said. "They're all your family, aren't they?"

"I guess so," Matilda said. "I don't see Ava that much anymore, I wasn't even allowed to go to her birthday party. Did I do something wrong?"

"No princess," Cal said. "You didn't do anything wrong. It...It was daddy's fault. You saw Ava the other day though, didn't you? That was a nice treat." Ava gave a small shrug. "I'll see what I can do princess," Cal said. "I'll see if I can get you to see Ava a bit more. I know you two became good friends."

"Yeah she isn't that bad," Matilda said, as she continued with her homework. "Can we go to Disneyland this year?"

"That's all the way in Paris, Matilda," Cal laughed. "And we just don't have the money for that sort of holiday I'm afraid."

"I meant the one in America," Matilda said and looked up at her dad. "Everyone at school has been. I'm like the only one who hasn't and I feel really left out, you don't want me to feel left out do you dad?"

"No of course not," Cal said and rubbed at the back of his neck. "But the one in America is even more expensive and we...We just can't afford it. I'm sorry."

"But you're a doctor," Matilda said. "McKenzie in my class said that doctor's get paid loads and loads of money."

"But you need to understand that I...I look after you on my own," Cal said. "I have to pay the bills and...I'm sorry Matilda but we cannot afford a holiday to Disneyland, Florida or Paris."

"That isn't fair," Matilda complained.

"Matilda!" Cal snapped at her. "You are my daughter and I've said no, you can't always have everything you want!"

"Mum would have said yes," Matilda said, scowling angrily at her father. "She always said yes when I asked for something. I miss Bournemouth."

"Matilda..."

"I want to go back," Matilda said. "I hate it here, no one at school likes me and I miss my mum."

"But sweetheart, this is our home now," Cal said. "This is where daddy's job is, where your uncle and aunty are. I thought you had friends at school."

"No," Matilda whispered and shook her head. "They all think I'm weird. Ava's my only friend and I don't even see her that much anymore, I want to go back to Bournemouth. I was happy there."

"But you're not happy here?" Cal whispered back and Matilda shook her head. "Look, as your dad it's my job to make sure you're happy but...We can't go back to Bournemouth, I'm needed here. Ethan is very sick and he and Lily are expecting a new baby, they need me."

"But I need you too," Matilda whined. "And it's like you don't even care about me anymore, dad!"

"Of course I care," Cal said and pulled her in for a hug. "Look Matilda, I am going to make sure you're happy but we don't necessarily have to move back home for that. I'll save up and then one day we'll be able to go to Disneyland, I'll make sure that you have more contact with Ava and I'll have a word with your teachers at school. I promise that everything is going to be fine and say in a few weeks time you're still not happy, we'll move back to Bournemouth. How does that sound?"

"Okay daddy," Matilda whispered and wiped at her eyes whilst leaning against Cal. "That sounds good. Sorry I shouted at you."

"And I'm sorry I shouted at you," Cal said and kissed her on the head. "But you're my little girl and I love you. Now, how about I go and cut us two big slices of that chocolate cake that's sitting in the fridge and then we can work on your family tree project together?"

"Yes," Matilda agreed with a huge smile. "Okay."

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter x**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty Five

Ethan could tell that there was something on Lily's mind as soon as he saw her. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and sat down beside her to see if she was okay, he knew that she'd been feeling unwell for the last couple of days but he could tell that there was something else bothering her. Something that he should know about.

"What's wrong?" He asked, knowing better than to ask if she was okay when she clearly wasn't.

"I um...I saw Connie today," Lily whispered. "And I got Ava's results."

"Right," Ethan sighed and ran a hand through his head. "Out with it then. It's positive, isn't it?"

"No," Lily whispered and shook her head. "Negative."

Ethan didn't know what to say. He was happy that Ava wouldn't have to suffer through the pain of being diagnosed with Huntington's but then it also meant that the possibility of Cal being her father was getting higher and higher. He chewed on his lip and just faintly nodded his head, trying his very best not to cry in front of Lily.

"Don't be upset." She obviously noticed. "It's good, it means that she can live a normal life."

"And I can't?" Ethan scoffed.

"I didn't mean it like that," Lily sighed deeply. "She could still be yours, you know?"

"Look, I know I said I didn't want to..." Ethan began to speak. "But after this baby is born, I think we need to get a paternity test done. I'm trying to be happy and I'm trying not to think about it but I can't help it, it's just constantly on my mind."

"Whatever you want to do," Lily agreed and gave a small shrug. "It's your choice. I might head to bed if that's okay, I'm feeling tired."

"Do you want me to come up with you?" Ethan offered but Lily shook her head. "All right, cup of tea?" But Lily had already left the room and gone up the stairs.

Ethan shook his head and took a deep breath. He knew that Lily didn't want to have a paternity test done but he just wanted to know if Ava was really his daughter or not. He was going to leave it for now until the baby was born so that the two of them didn't have tonnes of stress or upset. He got up off of the sofa and walked into the kitchen to make Lily a cup of tea anyway, hoping that it would cheer her up. When he carried the mug upstairs, he saw that she was lying in bed flicking through a leaflet and the first word that jumped out at him was Huntington's.

"Where did you get that from?" He asked and placed her mug on the bedside table.

"Connie gave it to me," she whispered. "Thanks for the tea. You didn't have to. I...I can't actually keep tea down that much at the moment though, it just makes me sick."

"Sorry," Ethan apologised and ran his hands down his face. "I didn't know."

"It's fine," Lily said. "It isn't your fault. Thanks anyway."

"I should have asked first," he said and turned to look at Lily. "Are you coping, Lily?" He then asked and gestured to the leaflet in her hands.

"I'm fine," Lily said. "Honestly Ethan, I don't want you to worry about me. I really do regret sleeping with Cal but I guess I didn't think that you'd ever find out, in my eyes Ava belonged to you. I never expected Cal to come back and...I guess I'm just scared because...I don't want to lose you. I love you."

"You won't lose me," Ethan said. "I love you. I always will. If you want to ask me anything about Huntington's though then feel free."

"I know enough," Lily said. "I'm a doctor."

"I know but..." Ethan paused mid-sentence. "I don't want you to struggle alone. I don't want you to go back to your old ways."

"I won't," Lily reassured him. "But it'll make me feel better if I just know how I can help you and I realise that sleeping with Cal probably wasn't the best way forward."

"The only way you can help me is just by being there and offering your support," Ethan said. "And you're already doing that. Look, why don't we spend some time together and bake a cake or something before we pick Ava up from school?"

"That sounds like a good plan," Lily said. "We have some baking bits in the kitchen cupboards and it'll be a nice treat for our princess."

"Yeah," Ethan agreed. "It will."

* * *

Ethan offered to go and collect Ava from school so that Lily was able to stay home and rest. He'd baked a cake and had set it down on the kitchen table with a few places, knowing that it would excite Ava when she arrived home. They were right. As soon as Ethan arrived home with her, she squealed and ran straight over to the table.

"Is it for me?" She asked with a huge grin.

"It's for everyone," Ethan said. "For after dinner."

"Awww!" Ava whined.

"Oh, let her have a slice now," Lily said, walking into the kitchen and leaning down to hug her daughter. "Have you been good at school?" Lily asked and Ava nodded. "Has she?" She asked Ethan.

"Yeah, her teacher said she'd been on her best behaviour today," Ethan said.

"Good girl," Lily praised and kissed Ava on the lips. "That is what mummy and daddy like to hear. Well done. If this behaviour carries on, maybe we can look at getting you that rabbit we talked about hmm?"

"I'd call it Dora!" Ava squealed, watching with big eyes as Ethan cut her a slice of cake and placed it onto one of the plates. "Yummy cake!" She squealed, stuffing the chocolatey goodness into her mouth.

"Easy now or you'll choke," Lily joked and ruffled her hair.

Ava started to slow up halfway through the cake. She placed the remains onto the plate and rubbed at her chest, Lily noticed just as she was about to start washing up.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" She asked.

"I don't feel well," Ava said, continuing to rub at her chest before suddenly falling to the floor.

"Ava!" Lily squealed and raced over to her daughter. It was times like that where Lily was so pleased that she and Ethan were both doctor's. "Ava, speak to mummy," she said and checked her pulse. "Gods sake. What did you put in that cake, Ethan?"

"I...I can't remember..." Ethan stuttered, looking at their unconscious daughter in complete shock.

"Nuts?" Lily asked, making eye contact with him. "Ethan, were there nuts in the cake?"

"I...I think so..."

"Ethan!" Lily shouted. "She's allergic to nuts! Did you not remember?" Ethan went silent. "Go and get her epi pen! It's in our room. Now!" Immediately, he sprung into action and raced upstairs. "It's okay baby girl," Lily soothed and stroked Ava's hair. "It's okay. Mummy's here, I've got you."

"I've got it!" Ethan yelled and hurried into the kitchen, stumbling as he went.

"Give it here," Lily ordered and snatched it from him, before jabbing it into Ava's hip. She looked at her watch and counted to ten quietly under her breath, whilst keeping the needle in Ava's skin. "Okay, Ava," she whispered, slowly removing it. "Ava."

Slowly, Ava's eyes opened and she started to come round. Lily stroked her hair and Ethan stood watching anxiously as Ava rolled onto her back and slowly sat up, tears rolling down both of her cheeks.

"Hey, it's okay," Lily whispered, wrapping an arm around her daughter's shoulder and holding her close. "It's okay."

"Good...Good girl," Ethan praised Ava with tears in his own eyes. "Mummy and daddy are here."

"Ethan," Lily cried and kissed Ava's forehead. "We...We need to sort this out before it gets any worst."

"What?" Ethan asked her.

"You. You couldn't even remember that Ava was allergic to nuts," Lily cried and sniffed. "She almost died."

 **Baby time for the happy couple soon :-)**


	26. Chapter 26

**Jynx999: It is a very cruel disease and I hope they continue with the storyline in Casualty and show how Ethan struggles. Thanks for your review :-)**

 **Guest: I'm glad you like it. That will soon be revealed.**

 **Is-there-somewhere-x: She is so cute, I love writing her :-)**

 **ETWentHome: Me too and I think it's the right decision as well. They do and hopefully they'll sort it.**

 **I am sorry for not updating in ages, I feel awful. My anxiety has been quite bad and work has been hectic, I've also had drama rehearsals for our upcoming show so I have had no time to do any updating. Here's the next chapter though and I hope you enjoy it x**

Chapter Twenty Six

"Not long left to go now," Robyn said, walking over to Lily at work. "Do you know what you're having yet?"

"No," Lily answered and shook her head. "When I was pregnant with Ava we knew that we were having a girl but we've both agreed to keep it a surprise this time. It kind of adds to the excitement."

"I'd love to be a mum," Robyn said. "You're so lucky, Lily. How's Ava doing?"

"You will be a mum," Lily said. "You're still young, I never thought that it would happen to be but look at me now. Ava's doing good, she's excited about being a big sister. She drew a picture at school the other day of her and the baby, it was so lovely."

"Sounds it." Robyn smiled at her. "Do you really think that marriage and kids will happen to me?"

"Of course I do," Lily said with a small sigh. "You just need to find the right guy who loves you for who you are. I was lucky enough to find Ethan."

"Thanks," Robyn thanked her and flung her arms around her neck. "You've changed so much Lily. You should be proud of yourself."

"Doctor Hardy!" Connie called, walking over to the two women. "Are you okay? You've been working really hard today, are you sure you don't need a little sit down?"

"I'm fine," Lily reassured her.

"You would tell me if you needed a break, wouldn't you?" Connie said and Lily nodded. "Good girl, just take it easy okay?" She gave her a small smile and turned to walk back to her office.

"I do wish people would stop fussing," Lily whispered and rolled her eyes. "Ethan's been the same."

"They just care," Robyn told her. "Come on, Connie's niceness is a rare occasion so I'd accept it if I was you."

"Yeah," Lily laughed. "Hey, how about the two of us go out for a drink after work today? Just the two of us?"

"Yeah," Robyn agreed and gave her a small nod. "Yeah. I'd really like that, Lily."

Lily was actually looking forward to having a girly evening with Robyn. Ethan had agreed to collect Ava from school and cook her some dinner, he knew that Lily wouldn't have any time for socialising after the baby was born and he also knew how stressed she'd been lately so he wanted to give her that time. Lily and Robyn headed off to some quiet pub round the corner whilst everyone else went to the usual place. It wasn't like they didn't want to be with their colleagues but it was just their evening and their evening alone. They didn't want to be disturbed.

"Are you not having any alcohol at all?" Robyn asked.

"No." Lily shook her head and sipped at her coke. "I'm not risking it, I'm nearing my due date so I am sticking to the soft drinks." Robyn nodded. "Now, we are going to try and get you a date."

"Lily, no," Robyn said. "Not here. How desperate will that look?"

"It won't look desperate at all," Lily said. "Loads of people meet each other in pubs. How about that guy over there?" She pointed at a man with dark hair sitting in a chair reading a newspaper.

"I don't know," Robyn answered. "He looks way out of my league."

"What do you mean?" Lily questioned. "He's gorgeous. By the way, do not tell Ethan I told you that."

"Don't worry, I won't," Robyn giggled. "But that's the thing...He..He's gorgeous and I...I'm just not."

"Yes you are," Lily told her and gave her shoulder a comforting rub. "You're beautiful, Robyn. Why don't you just go over and talk to him?"

"I wouldn't know what to say," Robyn said.

"You're asking the wrong person," Lily chuckled. "I was never good with guys either, Ethan just kind of fell for me and asked me out so I said yes and it just went from there really. Just ask him what he's reading or something, pretend you're talking to someone who you know really well and see where the conversation takes you. You might surprise yourself."

"Okay," Robyn said and took a deep breath. "I'll be brave. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Lily said, as Robyn stood up and headed over to speak to the guy. Lily watched her sit down and the two of them began talking. As she watched, sipping at her drink, someone sat down in Robyn's seat. It was a man with blonde hair, grinning from ear to ear. "Can I help you?" Lily asked, edging a few inches away from him.

"I was waiting for your friend to leave," he said. "You're really pretty."

"Um...Thanks..." Lily avoided eye contact with him.

"My name's Ryan by the way," he introduced himself. "How about I buy you a drink?"

"Um...I'm kind of with someone," Lily said, gesturing to her stomach. "If you hadn't already noticed."

"But not in a relationship, right?" Ryan said. "Just knocked up?"

Lily wondered if he was actually stupid. "Nope," she replied. "Married with another child as well, might I add." And with that, Ryan left and Robyn came back over. "How'd it go?" Lily sighed.

"Really well!" Robyn squealed. "We exchanged numbers and he said about meeting for a drink tomorrow night."

"See? Didn't I tell you?" Lily said. "You just need to get out there."

"Who were you talking to anyway?" Robyn asked, eyeing up the guy who had been in her seat.

"He was hitting on me," Lily said. "He thought that I was only pregnant and not with anyone. I put him straight though, told him I was married with another child as well and he left."

"Good for you," Robyn praised. "I hate guys like that. They're such dicks."

"Tell me about it," Lily sighed. "Another drink? You bought the last lot."

"Thanks," Robyn said. "I'll just have the same."

Lily nodded and headed up to grab the next round of drinks. As she sat back down, she said, "did I tell you that Ethan and I bought Ava a rabbit?"

"No," Robyn said. "You kept that quiet."

"Well, she wanted a dog," Lily said and sipped at her drink. "But I'm allergic and she knows that so we suggested the rabbit idea for her and she got really excited. She's six now and we feel like she might have been feeling a bit left out with the new baby on the way and stuff so we got her a rabbit. It's brown but she called it Dora. Surprise, surprise."

"Dora," Robyn cracked up laughing. "That's awesome. After Dora the Explorer?"

"Yeah," Lily answered. "Don't encourage her. We had to get a girl just so she could call it Dora, she'll probably want us to name the new baby that as well if it's a girl."

"How allergic are you to dogs anyway?" Robyn asked. "Do you just sneeze or do you come out in a rash or what?"

"Okay, to tell you the truth," Lily sighed. "I'm not allergic to dogs, I...I'm just terrified of them."

"How can you be terrified of dogs?" Robyn asked with wide eyes.

"You can't tell anyone," Lily said. "I...I had a bad experience with one when I was little. I was at the park with my dad and this dog was off it's lead. I was playing with a ball and it charged over and literally attacked me. It was growling, I...I had to go to hospital and I've just been scared of them ever since."

"How old were you there?" Robyn asked.

"Seven," Lily said. "I know that every child should have a dog but..."

"That was one idiotic owner," Robyn said. "If she knew that her dog was like that then it shouldn't have been off the lead. Ava's growing up though and I think a dog makes the perfect family, why don't you consider it? You shouldn't be afraid of your own dog because you're the ones bringing it up."

"True," Lily said. "I'll think about it."

"I would," Robyn said. "Maybe get a labrador, they're lovely."

"Thanks Robyn," Lily said.

Robyn smiled at her and nodded. "Don't mention it."


	27. Chapter 27

**The beginning of this chapter was inspired by something that happened to me today. When I was a child, I loved the dog film "Homeward Bound." I can't remember if I ever felt emotional at the end when I watched the films before but I re-watched them both today and found out I still love them even at the age of 21. I was in tears at the end though, haha. I don't know if anyone has ever watched them but they're good films :-)**

Chapter Twenty Seven

Ethan arrived home from a late shift to see Lily and Ava in the living room watching a film. The two of them were in pyjamas and Ava had a bowl of popcorn sitting in her lap. She was munching happily whilst Lily was crying and had a wad of tissues held to her face.

"Are you okay there?" Ethan chuckled, leaning over to kiss her cheek and rub her shoulder. "What are you watching?"

"Homeward Bound," Lily sobbed. "Sorry, it...It's probably my hormones. The ending is so happy though, they think Shadow isn't coming back and then he limps over that hill and Peter is running over to him and the music is playing in the background."

"Why is mummy crying?" Ava giggled. "It's silly!"

"It's because it's a happy ending, princess," Ethan said and glanced at his watch. "Go on, go and get yourself into bed and I'll be up to give you a kiss in a second."

"Can you read me a story?" Ava asked.

"Of course I will," Ethan said. "Go on."

Ava nodded and immediately rushed out of the room. Ethan removed the empty bowl and sat down beside Lily, before kissing her cheek again.

"Sorry," Lily apologised and wiped her tears away. "Ava wanted to watch it."

"Don't apologise," Ethan laughed. "Pregnancy does strange things to people."

"Ava loves dogs," Lily mentioned and wiped at her eyes again. "Robyn thinks that we should get one."

"But you're allergic," Ethan stated.

"No," Lily sniffed and shook her head. "That was a lie. I...I just have a stupid fear of them, that's all. Ava loves dogs though and most of the kids in her class have one, I...I think it could also help her confidence. Dogs and children are meant to be best friends."

"But we've already got her a rabbit," Ethan said. "Besides, I don't want a dog roaming around the house if you're scared of them. It isn't fair on you."

"We can have a dog as well," Lily said. "And I...I won't mind, I'll try and get over that for Ava. I'm a mum now, my kids come first. Labradors are a good breed."

"We'll think about it first," Ethan said. "Before we end up having two kids and a huge labrador running around the place. I'm going to go and tuck Ava in and then I might head to bed myself."

"Me too," Lily said.

* * *

It was around two o'clock in the morning when Lily woke up with terrible stomach pains. They were so bad that she literally jolted awake and grabbed hold of her stomach. Ethan was lying sound asleep next to her, snoring his head off. Having been a doctor for many years and having been through it once before already, Lily knew what it was straight away.

"Ethan," Lily hissed through gritted teeth and gave him a small shake. "Ethan, wake up."

"What?" Ethan groaned and rubbed at his eyes, before rolling onto his back. "What is it?" He yawned. "What's wrong?"

"The...The baby..." Lily gasped out and squeezed her eyes shut. "I think it's time."

"What?" Ethan sat straight up at that. "But you're not due for another week."

"Well, clearly little one can't wait," Lily said. "Please call Connie and...And maybe Alicia so that she can take care of Ava."

"Alicia's working tonight," Ethan said, climbing out of bed and quickly changing into some clothes. "So is Robyn. What about...What about Cal?"

"No!" Lily yelled. "I don't want Cal looking after our daughter!"

"He's the only one available," Ethan said. "He's got nights off because of Matilda, Connie and I are your birthing partners and Alicia and Robyn are both doing a night shift. We don't have any other options, Lily. I'm not happy about it either but at the end of the day Cal is my brother and if he is our only option then we're just going to put our thoughts aside for a bit, hmm?"

"Whatever!" Lily screamed out. "Just call Connie and Cal and...Get me to the fucking hospital."

"Language," Ethan chuckled, tripping over as he raced to grab Lily's hospital bag.

Lily bit her lip and rubbed her stomach as she watched him trip over. He then pretended that nothing had happened and continued to get things ready for the hospital.

"Daddy," a small voice said and Ava appeared in the doorway, holding her Mickey Mouse doll. "I heard screaming and I'm scared."

"It...It's okay baby," Lily said. "It's just, your baby brother or sister is ready now so we need to go and collect them from the hospital. You're going to stay with Uncle Cal and cousin Matilda though, all right? You'll be okay."

"Will you be okay?" Ava asked, entering the room and walking over to Lily.

"I will be fine," Lily said and planted a kiss on Ava's forehead. "I promise. I'll call you as soon as I can, okay?" Ava nodded and wrapped her arms around Lily. "Mummy loves you," Lily said, before screaming out in pain again.

"What is it?" Ethan panicked. "What happened?"

"I am in labor, Ethan," Lily reminded him and gave Ava's back a comforting rub. "Pain happens."

"Sorry," Ethan whispered.

"I'm fine," Lily reassured Ava and gave her another kiss.

"Right, let's go," Ethan said and wrapped an arm around Lily's shoulder. "I'll ring Cal and Connie on the way. We should get you in the car first though."

"Pain's getting worst," Lily whispered to him, tears in her eyes.

"I know, I know," Ethan soothed her. "But come on, you're going to be fine. You've done it all before. Just hold my hand."

Lily nodded and gave Ethan's hand a squeeze. "Thank you," she whispered to him.

* * *

"Are you comfortable?" Ethan asked as Lily lay in a hospital bed in one of the gowns. She just nodded, wincing as she shifted to a more comfortable position. "I can't believe that this is finally happening," Ethan said, clutching her hand and crouching at the side of Lily's bed. "This is so exciting."

"Yeah," Lily whispered and gave a small nod. "Scary though."

"I know," Ethan soothed, rubbing her hand with his thumb.

"Knock, knock," a voice said. The door opened and Connie popped her head round before walking inside. "How are we doing in here?"

"Not too good," Lily answered.

"Come here," Connie said and walked over to give her a hug. "Who's taking care of Ava?"

"Cal," Ethan said. "He was the only one who was available. Ava gets to spend some time with Matilda though so I'm sure she's happy, she was worrying about Lily though."

"But hey, she'll have a little brother or sister," Connie said, holding Lily's other hand whilst stroking her hair. "Hopefully in the next twenty four hours."

"I'm hoping that this will not last that long," Lily whimpered, squeezing her eyes in pain again. "God! It hurts!"

"Just focus on your breathing," Ethan said. "Next time Mr T comes in, I'll see if we can get you some pain relief."

"Well, it certainly feels weird being back at this end of the hospital," Connie said, glancing around the room. "It's been years, I'm just so used to the buzz of the ED now."

"You...You are staying, right?" Lily said.

"I said that I would, didn't I?" Connie asked. "I was on a night shift but I've left Charlie in charge, hence why I'm in a blouse and black trousers at three o'clock in the morning."

"We should take bets," Ethan said. "On whether the baby is going to be a boy or a girl."

"I'd rather you not make money off of my misery," Lily whined.

"Ethan, you can take a break if you want," Connie said. "You look tired and you need to be fully awake and focused for when Lily is further along. I'll look after her, don't worry."

"Will that be okay?" Ethan questioned and placed a hand on Lily's forehead. Lily gave him a weak smile and nodded. "I love you," Ethan said. "I promise that I won't be long. Would you like me to get you anything?"

"Just a glass of water," Lily said. "Maybe some ice chips as well, if that's okay."

"That's absolutely fine," Ethan said and gave her a kiss on the lips. "I love you, more than anything. Soon, we'll have our baby."

 **So do you think the baby should be a boy or a girl? Let me know x**


	28. Chapter 28

**CBloom2: That would be incredibly cute! Thank you :-)**

 **xMissWhitneyBexx: Perfect!**

 **casualtyislife: Thanks for your review :-)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: That would be interesting because Ava is very girly. They can be but I think Lily realised that Ava couldn't be left alone and that there was no other option. I only wrote that scene because I cried at it the other day, I'm a huge dog person haha.**

 **Catt9089: Thank you.**

 **Is-there-somewhere-x: Okay, thanks :-)**

 **I absolutely love writing this story and I still have many ideas to come, haha. Here is a little bit of a Casualty/Holby City chapter, a bit of a filler chapter before Lily has the baby. Enjoy :-)**

Chapter Twenty Eight

Connie had spent years working on the wards of Holby City before moving to the ED and it felt so weird to be back. She half smiled to herself as she took a break and walked down the corridors, secretly missing it. She loved the buzz of the ED and she felt a lot happier there but being back on the wards made her feel quite nice inside.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Connie Beauchamp," a familiar voice said from behind her.

Connie smirked and crossed her arms. She spun round on her heels and came face to face with Jac Naylor.

"What brings you to this end of the hospital?" Jac questioned.

"One of our doctors has gone into labor and I'm just here to lend a helping hand," Connie informed her. "It's kind of nice to be back on the wards though. It's just like old times."

"It'd be even better if Mr Sam Strachan was here as well," Jac said. "Then it would be the three musketeers back together again."

"Indeed," Connie laughed.

"Listen, do you fancy a cuppa?" Jac asked. "I'm on my break, unless you have to get back."

"No, I think I can spare five," Connie said. "Lily isn't even fully dilated yet and she does have her husband there with her. How's it been down here anyway?" Connie asked as the two of them started walking down the corridor together.

"Same old," Jac sighed. "I mean you know how hectic it is doing a night shift, right? I've not been able to sit down until now."

"Right," Connie chuckled.

Jac poured them both a cup of coffee and the two of them sat down on the sofa. At first the silence was awkward but Jac soon spoke up, striking up a conversation about Grace and asking how she was doing.

"Fine," Connie replied. "She's growing up fast and I do love that she's living with me now. She's sleeping at her friends house tonight, I was meant to be working anyway so it had all been planned. How's Emma?"

"She's fine," Jac said. "Same as Grace really, growing up fast. Do you um...Still see Sam at all?"

"No." Connie shook her head and sipped at her hot drink. "Grace is off to New York for a week soon but she'll be flying on her own and then Sam will be meeting her at the other end. I'll miss her, it feels weird when she isn't with me."

"I bet," Jac said with a smile. "Things are different now, it feels weird."

"Yeah it does," Connie sighed deeply. "But I'll still pop in and visit every so often, being on the wards has kind of reminded me how much I've missed it. The ED is where I belong though, I love it there and they need me."

"Just like Darwin needs me," Jac said. "Nice to see you, Connie Beauchamp."

"You too," Connie replied. "Jac Naylor."

* * *

"Uncle Cal."

Cal woke up to a small voice from the doorway of his bedroom. He groaned and rubbed at his eyes wearily before checking the time on the clock. It was early, extremely early. He yawned and rolled onto his back, slowly turning on his bedside lamp to see that Ava was standing there in her pyjamas with her stuffed rabbit held to her chest.

"Hey princess," he whispered with a small smile. "What's the matter?"

"I can't sleep," she whispered back and sucked on her thumb. "Can I come into bed with you?"

"Of course you can," Cal said, sitting up and patting the space next to him. "Come on." Ava nodded and climbed up onto the bed, snuggling close to her uncle. "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

"Do you think Dora's okay?" Ava asked. "She's never been on her own at night before."

"I think she'll be absolutely fine," Cal comforted her. "She'll be having her little bunny sleep, enjoying the peace and quiet. We'll go and visit her in the morning though, let her have a run and give her some food."

"But mummy and daddy will be back home then, right?" Ava said. "With my little brother or sister."

"They won't be home that quickly, sweetie," Cal said.

"Why not?" Ava asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all," Cal said. "The thing is, it...How do I explain this?" He asked himself and stroked at his hair. "It takes quite a long time to get the baby."

"Because they have to check if it's the right one?" Ava asked. "Because there'll be lots of other babies too, huh?"

"Not exactly," Cal chuckled. "You know how mummy explained to you about the baby being in her tummy? Well, it's quite a long process to get the baby out."

"How do they get it out?" Ava asked.

"Well, I don't know exactly," Cal lied. "But the doctor's and nurses work their magic."

"Mummy was hurting," Ava said. "Is that why she had to go to the doctor?"

"I won't lie to you, Ava," Cal said. "Having a baby can hurt a tiny, little bit."

"What is a tiny, little bit?" Ava asked. "Is it like when I broke my arm at school?"

"Yes." Cal nodded. "Just...Just like that."

"Ouch," Ava hissed. "Poor mummy! I will give her a big hug when I see her, I could make her a card as well couldn't I?"

"I think she'd like that," Cal said. "But because it takes a long time and the doctor likes to keep mummy and baby in for a short while just to check if they're both okay, she won't be able to come home tomorrow."

"What about daddy?" Ava asked.

"He might be able to," Cal said and stroked her hair. "But he'll also be in and out because he'll need to look after mummy and your little brother or sister. You're going to be a big, grown up girl and help him right?" Ava nodded with a smile and clapped her hands with excitement. "Good girl. Now where is Matilda? What have you done with her?"

"She's still sleeping," Ava said. "When...When the baby does get here, will I be allowed to see mummy at the hospital?"

"Of course you will," Cal promised. "Daddy promised to call me as soon as the baby arrives so then I can take you to see her. Hey, I bet she'll be thinking of you," he said and kissed her cheek.

"I'm scared," Ava whispered in a small voice and wiped at her eyes. "I miss mummy, I don't want her to be hurted."

"Hey now, sssshh," Cal soothed her and pulled her in for a hug. "Mummy will be fine, I promise. I know what'll cheer you up." Ava sniffed and looked to him with a pout. "How about a bowl of ice-cream?" Cal whispered. "It'll be our little secret, yeah? We won't tell anyone."

"Yeah," Ava giggled.

"Good girl, but then you'll have to go back to sleep," Cal said. "And in the morning, you can sit at my special table and make a special card for mummy. Does that sound good?"

"Yes," Ava said, giving Cal a huge smile that almost made him cry. "Yes, it does."


	29. Chapter 29

**Bonnie Sveen Fan: They are very cute :-)**

 **ETWentHome: It is.**

 **Is-there-somewhere-x: Me too, I thought I'd add some Jac into the story.**

Chapter Twenty Nine

"I don't think I can do this anymore," Lily hissed, clenching her jaw. She held a hand to her stomach and shifted to a more comfortable position whilst looking to Ethan for help. "I thought I...I could but I was wrong."

"You can do it," Ethan encouraged and gave her shoulder a rub. "You can. You're the strongest person I know, Lily."

"Hmm," Lily whimpered and glanced up at the clock. "It's morning. Ava would be awake by now."

"I'm sure she's fine," Ethan said. "She's with Matilda and those two get on so well with each other. You just concentrate on yourself and our baby."

"I have been in labor for ages," Lily whispered. "How much more do I have to take of this?"

"Not long," Ethan promised. "You're over halfway, that's progress."

"I guess," Lily sighed and lay back down on the bed, a hand held to her head. "God, it fucking hurts," she cursed and closed her eyes, as a contraction hit. Ethan gave her a comforting smile and held her hand to help her through it.

The door opened and Connie walked in along with one of the midwives.

"How are we doing?" The midwife asked.

"Not too good," Lily groaned. "Everything hurts and I just want this fucking baby out of me already."

"Let's take a look at you," the midwife suggested and walked over to Lily. "Right," she sighed.

"What?" Lily winced. "What...What is it?"

"Is something wrong?" Connie asked, her face turning serious. "What's happened?"

"The baby just seems to be in quite a difficult position," the midwife said. "We don't want to cause baby any distress so a c-section might be needed."

"No," Lily cried and shook her head. "No. Ethan, please." Tears streamed down her face and she turned to look at her husband. "Things will be okay, right? I...I can just push the baby out, do it all natural."

"I'm afraid that would just cause more distress," the midwife said. "We're going to have to perform a c-section and we're going to have to perform one now. I understand that it isn't what you wanted but we're just trying to do what's best for you and baby."

"It'll be okay, Lily," Connie said. "Ethan and I will be there. Don't be scared."

"I'm not," Lily screamed out, although to everyone else it was quite obvious a lie.

"Hey," Ethan soothed and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "You'll be okay."

* * *

Lily couldn't believe how beautiful her baby boy was. She was secretly pleased, she and Ethan already had a girl and now they had a boy as well. It was the perfect little family. She smiled and cradled him in her arms, before leaning down to kiss him on the forehead. He let out a small cry and grabbed hold of one of her fingers.

"He's adorable, isn't he?" Connie said and stroked Lily's hair. "You did well. Well done."

"Thanks," Lily whispered and turned to Ethan. "Do you want to hold him?"

"I'm a bit nervous," Ethan admitted in a quiet voice. "He...He's so tiny."

"You're his dad, you have to hold him," Lily said. "Come on, you're not going to break him."

Ethan faintly nodded and Lily gently handed their newborn son over to him. Ethan soothed him and gently bounced him in his arms whilst Connie and Lily sat back and watched. Ethan had never felt happier, seeing his sleeping baby boy right there in his arms and in those seconds, he forgot everything that had happened.

"He's gorgeous," he said between sobs and Lily nodded in agreement.

There was a knock on the door and Cal popped his head round. Immediately, Ava rushed into the room.

"Here we go," Lily laughed. "You're meant to be at school."

"I dropped Matilda off," Cal said. "But this little monkey wanted to come and see you and her new sibling."

"Come on honey, I'll lift you up," Connie said and picked Ava up. "Just be careful of mummy, okay? She's feeling a little sore."

"Okay," Ava whispered. Connie placed her down on the bed and she slowly crawled over and gave Lily a hug. "I missed you, mummy," she said.

"I missed you too, baby girl," Lily said and stroked her hair. "Look. I'd like you to meet your new brother, Zack," she said and gestured to the baby in Ethan's arms. "You're a big sister now."

"Why didn't you have a girl, mummy?" Ava asked. "Boys smell."

"We can't choose what we have unfortunately," Lily laughed. "But boys can be lots of fun too, I promise. You'll have a blast together."

"Can I hold him?" Ava asked.

"You're a bit too young to hold him, sweetheart," Lily said. "Maybe when he's grown a little bit, yeah? He's very tiny." Ava nodded. "I missed you, princess," Lily said and gave her a kiss.

"When can you come home?" Ava asked.

"Soon," Lily promised. "They just want to keep me and your brother in for a little bit longer but as soon as we're home, you and I can maybe have a girly day-out together and leave the boys at home. Does that sound good?"

"Yes!" Ava squealed with excitement. "Very good!" She smiled and turned to Cal. "Uncle Cal, where is my card?"

"Just here, sweetie," Cal said and handed a piece of paper over to Ava.

Lily gave him a small glare but didn't say anything.

"I made this for you," Ava said and handed the sheet of paper to Lily. "It's a get well soon card."

Lily smiled at the drawing that Ava had done of her and the new baby. Underneath it she'd written her own get well message and signed her name, all done in a red felt tip pen.

"Do you like it?" Ava asked.

"I love it," Lily said. "It's the best card I've ever received. Thank you very much, I'll stick this up when we get home."

"Which will be soon, right?" Ava said.

"Yes." Lily smiled and gave her another kiss. "Very soon."

 **Sorry I haven't updated in ages. I'm really busy at the moment and I've also started writing for Orange is the New Black so updates may be quite slow. I'll only update when I've found the time or had an idea so I appreciate the patience. I hope you liked the chapter :-) x**


	30. Chapter 30

**sweeet-as-honey: She did, bless her. I can't see Ethan panicking and that is true, poor Ethan. You'll soon see Lily's girly day out with her daughter :-)**

 **Is-there-somewhere-x: Thank you :-)**

 **ETWentHome: I think Ava would be a good big sister.**

Chapter Thirty

Lily woke up to the sound of crying. At first she had no idea where she was, she wiped her weary eyes to try and get rid of her blurred vision and soon realised that she was lying on the sofa in the living room. Ava was knelt on the floor playing with her doll's house and the crying just continued, it sounded like it was coming from upstairs. Lily yawned and groaned, as she went to sit up.

"I'll deal with him!" Ethan offered, pushing her back down onto the sofa.

"Who?" Lily groaned, rubbing at her eyes again.

"Our son," Ethan chuckled. "Did you forget that you recently had a baby? You look shattered Lily, why don't you go and lie down on the bed?"

"I'm fine here," she yawned, slowly closing her eyes. "He might be hungry so..." She trailed off, keeping her eyes closed.

"So?" Ethan shrugged and shook his head. "Are you going to continue that sentence?"

"Sorry?" Lily asked, opening one eye at him.

"Never mind," Ethan chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I'll see to him."

"Ethan," Lily yawned again, her eyes slowly shutting again. "If we ever get a cat, can we not fry it?"

Ethan frowned, intrigued as to what Lily had actually been dreaming about. He laughed to himself and headed upstairs to the nursery where Zack was lying in his crib crying, his face red and screwed up. Ethan leaned over the side of the cot and lifted him into his arms. He patted his back and paced up and down the nursery with him, trying to get him to go to sleep.

"Hey my little prince," Ethan soothed, kissing his head. "Come on, what's wrong? Sleep for daddy, come on."

* * *

"Mummy, can you play with me?" Ava asked, walking over to the sofa and giving Lily a small shake. Lily stirred slightly but didn't say anything. "I'm bored. Please mummy, play with me."

"Sweetheart, mummy needs to sleep," Lily said. "Daddy will play with you as soon as he is finished with your brother."

"Mummy, you always play with me!" Ava whined.

"Ava," Lily said, beginning to lose her patience. "Mummy is still very sore and she is also very tired. Let me sleep and I'll try and play with you later. You're not even supposed to be at home today, you're supposed to be at school."

"I wanted to stay home with you," Ava whispered and hung her head, stepping away from the sofa. "Mummy, when are we going to have our girly day?"

"I'm not sure, honey," Lily said.

"I think he's hungry," Ethan called through as he walked into the room with Zack in his arms. "Sorry Lils, are you okay to feed him? I don't have the right body parts. Sorry."

"Sure," Lily agreed and sat up on the sofa, gently taking Zack from his dad. "Hey buddy, ssshh. Are you hungry?" She soothed and began to feed Zack, glancing across at Ava who was stood frowning with tears in her eyes. "Ethan, could you take her out or something? She's doing my head in."

"I could take her to the park?" Ethan suggested.

Lily glared across at him, remembering what had happened the last time Ethan and Ava had gone to the park.

"Right," Ethan sighed. "Why don't I just take Ava and Zack into the garden for a bit? It'll give you some time to rest." Lily nodded, liking that idea. "Ava, after Zack has had his feed how about the three of us go and play in the garden? You can take some of your favourite toys out there."

"Will Zack be there as well?" Ava asked and crossed her arms.

"Well, yes," Ethan sighed. "But we'll put him in his pushchair to have a nap and then the two of us can play a game. That sounds like fun, huh?"

"I suppose so," Ava sighed. "Will mummy be joining us?"

"Mummy is going to stay inside and sleep," Lily said, as she finished feeding Zack. "Daddy has offered to play with you Ava so don't be ungrateful."

"I wasn't," Ava whispered.

"Look, she just wants to play with you," Ethan whispered to Lily. "Don't talk to her like that. I'll take the kids, you get some sleep okay?" Lily nodded as Ethan took Zack in his arms and carried him outside, Ava dragging alone behind. Ava sat on the step with her doll whilst Ethan tucked Zack into his pushchair with his blanket and teddy. He put the break on and sat him in a shady area before walking over to his daughter. "Right, what's wrong?" Ethan asked, sitting down on the step and stroking Ava's hair.

"Zack's getting more attention," Ava pouted. "And mummy won't play with me."

"Ava," Ethan sighed. "I'm going to talk to you like an adult, okay? Now, having a baby can be quite painful."

"I know." Ava nodded. "Uncle Cal told me."

"Did he?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Right. Anyway. Zack wasn't quite in the right position so they had to just make a little cut on mummy to get him out."

"Like a paper cut?" Ava asked.

"A little bigger than that," Ethan said. "But mummy is still in the recovery stage. Usually whilst having a baby, the pain goes away afterwards but for mummy she still has a bit of that pain there because Zack wasn't in the right position to come out right away. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I think so," Ava said. "When will mummy be better though? She's very boring now, she just sleeps."

"Soon," Ethan said. "But for now, daddy needs to look after Zack so that mummy can get some rest. It doesn't mean that we don't love you anymore because we love you very, very much. A new baby does need a lot of attention but you can help us out with that."

"Can I?" Ava asked. "What can I do?"

"Well, you can help put Zack to bed?" Ethan said. "And maybe I can show you how to change his nappy?"

"Gross!" Ava pulled a face and stuck her tongue out.

"Come here you," Ethan said and pulled her into his lap, before kissing her head. "You are my best girl! I love you very much and I always will!"

"I love you too daddy," Ava said.

Their moment was interrupted as Zack started crying from his pushchair.

"Zack's crying, daddy," Ava stated. "We should go and see if he's okay, shouldn't we?"

Ethan smiled at his daughter with tears in his eyes. He'd never been so proud. "Yes princess," he said. "We should."

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter x**


	31. Chapter 31

**CBloom2: It is and I thought he explained it so well to Ava. Um...There will be some more to come with Cal, I'd like to say yes but not straight away.**

 **sweeet-as-honey: She is. Haha, I'm glad you liked that line. I took that inspiration from my friend who kind of said it once in her sleep, I still remember her telling me the story. Ethan is an amazing dad and I hope he has many more amazing moments with his children.**

 **ETWentHome: He is. I'm glad you liked it :-)**

Chapter Thirty One

It was a day where Lily was due to have a small session with Connie. Connie had said that they weren't therapy sessions, just little chats about how Lily was doing with Ethan's illness and the new baby. Lily called it therapy though, despite her utter hatred for the word.

"Why don't you take Zack?" Ethan suggested, walking into the room.

"Why?" Lily asked, as she sat on a chair in the kitchen breastfeeding her son. "Can't he um...Just stay here with you?"

"It's good for babies to get some fresh air once in a while," Ethan said. "Besides, I think Connie would like to see him. She was there for the birth and she is one of his godmothers."

"I just...I don't want anything to happen to him," Lily said and gave him a smile. "That's all."

"What?" Ethan chuckled. "Why would anything happen to him, Lily? Oh wait, yes, I know," he said and his tone turned to sarcastic. "Connie is going to kidnap him and lock him in her office with her. Then a bird is going to swoop in through the window and snatch the baby out of Connie's arms and fly through the air with it and..." He caught sight of Lily's glare and stopped talking.

"Connie wouldn't take him, would she?" Lily asked. "Or...Or anyone for that matter?"

"No," Ethan sighed and rolled his eyes. "Connie will be upset if you don't take Zack. He'll be in safe hands, Lily."

"Okay." Lily nodded. "But you're okay with dropping Ava off at school?"

"Of course," Ethan said. "And if it makes you feel any better then I'll text you once I've dropped her off and once I've arrived home. Okay?" Lily nodded and gave him a small smile. "Good," Ethan said and smiled back at her.

* * *

Lily held Zack protectively in her arms as she made her way into the ED. Robyn hurried over to her with Cal at her side. Lily gave them a fake smile and held Zack tighter as Robyn took hold of one of his tiny hands. Cal patted Lily's shoulder and playfully waggled his tongue at the little boy.

"He's gorgeous, Lily," Robyn said. "A right handsome little chap."

"She's right," Cal said. "Matilda's at school but she's dying to see him."

"Is she?" Lily gulped. "I...I'd rather she didn't."

"Okay..." Cal frowned at her. "Can I have a hold? I am his uncle."

"No!" Lily snapped and kept hold of Zack. "I mean, not right now. I have to go and see Connie."

"We're okay, aren't we Lily?" Cal asked. "Ethan told me that you were planning on getting a DNA test for Ava. Have you?" Lily bit her lip and shook her head. "Well..."

"Just leave me alone," Lily said. "I need to go and see Connie." And with that, she walked off.

"She'll come round," she heard Robyn say as she made her way towards Connie's office.

She took a deep breath and kissed Zack's head, before knocking on the door to Connie's office. She waited until she called her in before opening the door and walking inside.

"Hello," Connie greeted and smiled when she saw Zack in Lily's arms. "And look at who has come to see me." She stood up and walked over to get a closer look at Zack. "Hello handsome, have you come to visit me at work?"

"Yeah," Lily whispered and kept hold of him. "Ethan made me bring him."

"Can I have a cuddle?" Connie asked.

Lily paused and took a nervous breath, before quickly saying, "um...Maybe later?"

Connie smiled at her, looking concerned but she jokingly said, "you're going to make me wait? I never thought you'd be so cruel."

Lily sighed, beginning to get extremely frustrated. "Is it really so awful of me to not want everyone's hands all over my baby all the time?" She snapped.

"No," Connie replied quietly and folded her arms across her chest. "Not at all. Are you okay though?" Lily nodded. "Well, take a seat. Do you want a drink or anything?" Lily shook her head and sat down with Zack on her lap, leaning against her stomach. "He really is gorgeous though. He's grown so much already."

"Has he?" Lily whispered.

"He has," Connie said. "So, what are you doing this weekend?"

"Ava and I are having a day out together," Lily said. "Zack's staying at home with Ethan so I...I guess that'll be nice."

"That does sound nice," Connie said, her eyes on Zack. Lily had her arms tightly wrapped around him, as if someone was going to snatch him from her arms at any minute. "Any more news?" Connie asked, sitting opposite her and having a sip of some water.

"Um...Well...Ethan and I have decided to have a DNA test done for Ava?" Lily asked. "He wanted one done after Zack was born and now...Seems like the right time."

"Does it?" Connie asked. "That's good but...What if it's bad news?"

"I haven't thought about that yet," Lily whispered, shifting Zack to another position as he started to get fussy. "I um...I don't know."

"Do you want me to take him, Lily?" Connie asked. "I know how fidgety babies can be."

"I'm fine," Lily said. "I'd rather hold him if that's okay. He's not very good with strangers."

"He seems happy to see me," Connie said and smiled at Zack, as he continued to stare at her with wide eyes. "Come on, it'll give you a break." Lily looked hesitant. "You'll be here and you can always take him back if you're not happy."

"You...You'll be careful?" Lily asked.

"I'll be careful," Connie said.

"And you'll pass him back to me if I ask?" Lily asked.

"I'll pass him back if you ask," Connie said. Lily gave a nervous nod and lifted him up to hand him to Connie. Connie smiled and took the small boy in her arms, holding him against her chest whilst rubbing his back. "Hello little man," she said. "Are you sitting with Aunty Connie now?"

"You're...You're good with him..." Lily stuttered.

"Well, I'm not a huge baby person but he is precious," Connie laughed. "Besides, I've had the experience haven't I? Grace wasn't the easiest baby but I managed. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Lily nodded. "I just...I'm scared that something bad is going to happen to him."

"Isn't that how you felt after you had Ava?" Connie asked.

"No." Lily shook her head. "No, I...I was sick back then. This...Is...This is just normal you know...Being protective as a mother."

"Okay," Connie said and started to bounce Zack up and down on her lap. "And how is Ethan doing?"

"He keeps showing symptoms," Lily whispered. "I'm worried about him. Sooner or later, I...I'm not going to be able to leave him by himself and I...I'm going to have two kids and my husband to care for."

"We're here to help you, Lily," Connie said. "That's why you're having these talks with me. Ethan's good with the kids though, isn't he?"

"He's really good with them," Lily replied. "Amazing in fact. I'm just scared because...Well...Things are going to change."

"Change can be scary," Connie said. "But it can also be a good thing."

"Not when my husband is slowly dying," Lily whispered in a choked up voice. "I'm sorry. I...I feel so stupid."

"Don't feel stupid." Connie stood up with Zack tucked under one arm. She walked over and picked up a box of tissues from her desk, handing them over to Lily before sitting back down with Zack. "What are you more afraid of?"

"Looking after the kids by myself," Lily sobbed. "But also I...I don't want to see Ethan suffering like that. I hate it, it really upsets me."

"That's understandable," Connie said. "But Ethan's going to be fine. You're going to be fine. Ava is going to be fine and this little munchkin right here is going to be fine to." She stood Zack on her legs and blew a raspberry on his stomach. "Yes, I was talking about you Mr Handsome."

"You're so good with him," Lily said. "I'm sorry I wouldn't let you hold him."

"I forgive you," Connie said and gave her a small wink. "Come on, I think we could all do with a drink."

"Yeah." Lily smiled at her. "A drink sounds good."

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The results of who Ava belongs to is coming up :-) x**


	32. Chapter 32

**Some of my stories will be finishing soon. I have some ideas for new stories in mind that I've been thinking of for months and then I am going to have a go at writing something a little bit different. My stories will still be about Lily but probably a different genre and plot :-)**

Chapter Thirty Two

Lily watched as Ava sat across from her eating a beef burger from the children's menu. She smiled when she noticed how happy her little girl looked whilst spending quality time with her. She had a sip of her drink and continued to eat her own food, before asking her daughter how she was getting on at school.

"Good," Ava replied and took a huge bite out of her burger.

"What's your favourite lesson?" Lily asked.

"I like drawing," Ava said. "This is nice, mummy. Zack can't do this, can he? Because he's just a baby and very little."

"Exactly," Lily laughed. "Zack's time will come though and besides, he's having a nice day at home with daddy. Do you like being a big sister?" Ava nodded. "Mummy loves you. You know that, right?"

"I know," Ava said. "I think I've finished now."

"Yeah?" Lily asked. "Tell you what, how about we skip dessert and have a bit of a shop? Then we can stop at the Ice-Cream Parlour on our way home for a little treat. Does that sound good?"

"Very!" Ava squealed with excitement and nodded her head. "Very, very good."

"So I'll get the bill then," Lily said. "What shop would you like to look in first?"

"Disney!" Ava shouted and threw her arms up in the air. "What's your favourite Disney film, mummy?"

"Oh that's a hard decision," Lily said, as the waiter came and took their plates away. Lily stopped for a second and asked him for the bill, which he nodded at before walking away. "Favourite Disney film? I think...I'd have to say...The Lion King." She smiled and winked at her little girl. "I know what yours is."

"What?" Ava giggled and kicked her legs about.

"Frozen?" Lily asked.

"Yes!" She laughed. "And The Jungle Book and Finding Nemo! I like them all. Daddy said we might be getting a dog, I'd call it Baloo if we did. He's the big bear from The Jungle Book."

"We'll see about the dog," Lily said. "Daddy and I are still in the process of discussing it. It isn't something that we can just rush into and besides, you already have Dora the rabbit."

"Dora gets lonely though," Ava whispered and Lily decided to just end the conversation there.

* * *

"Okay so because you have been a very good girl recently..." Lily said as they entered the Disney store. "You can choose anything you like from here, okay?"

"Anything I like?" Ava asked and her eyes went wide.

Lily nodded. "Yes," she answered and crouched at her daughter's side. "You've been really good lately and you've helped with Zack as well. That's the kind of behaviour I like and that's the kind of behaviour that needs rewarding so go on, go and choose something."

Ava gave her a brief hug and Lily had a look round, making sure to keep an eye on her daughter. Ava soon returned with a cuddly Dory and a cuddly Peter Pan.

"I said one," Lily laughed.

"The Peter Pan is for Zack," Ava said quietly and held the toy out to Lily.

"Really?" Lily asked and slowly took the Peter Pan from Ava. "You want to get something for Zack?"

"Yes," Ava replied and gave her a nod.

"That's so sweet," Lily said and ruffled Ava's hair. "You are a good girl. Come on, let's go and pay for these shall we? Do you think Zack will like Peter Pan?" Ava nodded and clutched the colourful fish to her chest. "You're a very sweet sister."

They went in a few more shops and grabbed some ice-cream before heading home. As soon as they walked in the door, they were met by Cal and Matilda. Matilda squealed and raced to hug Ava and Ava immediately began questioning Lily on whether she could show Matilda her new things.

"Course you can," Lily agreed and the two girls ran upstairs to Ava's bedroom. "Hey Cal. What are you doing here?" Lily asked, slipping her jacket off and hanging it up.

"I just popped in to see my brother," Cal said and shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't realise that you'd taken Ava out today."

"I promised her," Lily said. "She'd been feeling a bit left out."

"Lily!" Ethan's voice sounded throughout the house. "Is that you?" And he came strolling through with Zack in his arms.

"Hey," Lily said and took Zack from his dad. "Hey baby boy, did you miss mummy? Yes...Um...Cal didn't hold him did he?"

"No," Cal said. "I haven't been here long and he was crying earlier."

"Good," Lily said. "I...I don't want you holding him when I'm not here."

"I'm sure Cal would have looked after him," Ethan chuckled. "We've had a good day though. He's been a good boy for daddy and we spent some time in the garden. It's been nice. How was your day?"

"Really lovely," Lily answered. "Um...Reach into that bag down there," she said and gestured to the bag at her feet. Ethan nodded and pulled out the Peter Pan, before handing it to Lily. "Look at what your sister chose for you," Lily said, showing Zack the Peter Pan doll. Immediately, Zack gurgled and reached for the doll with his small hand. "She wanted to get him something."

"That's cute," Ethan said. "Come through to the living room for a second. I wanted to talk to you."

"Is everything okay?" Lily asked. "Are you..."

"I'm fine," Ethan interrupted her and led her through to the living room. "It's just...Cal and I were talking."

"About what?" Lily asked and sat down on the sofa with Zack on her lap.

"This...Paternity test..." Ethan said. "We said we'd get one after the baby was born. Cal's pretty keen to find out if Ava belongs to him and so am I."

"Sshh," Lily quietened him. "Ava's upstairs."

"We can't keep putting it off though," Ethan told her. "I want to know, Lily."

Lily bounced Zack up and down on her lap and glanced towards Cal who gave her a small nod. She smiled at him and nodded back, before turning to Ethan. "Okay," she whispered. "We...We'll get a paternity test."


	33. Chapter 33

**Bonnie Sveen Fan: It would, bless him.**

Chapter Thirty Three

Weeks passed and Ethan, Lily and Cal all wanted to know the results of the paternity test. It felt as if they had been waiting for a whole year and although they were all panicking, Lily seemed to be the more relaxed one. Ethan had been feeling down for days and no one was sure whether it was the nerves of the test results or his disease. Cal had just stayed well clear, only popping in at least twice a week to see if they had heard anything.

It was a Saturday and Lily had been working whilst Ethan stayed at home to look after Ava. She arrived home around six o'clock to hear music playing and when she walked into the living room, she saw Ava dressed in a mini wedding dress and flowers scattered all over the carpet.

"What is going on?" She asked, placing her bag on the sofa.

"Oh, Ava and I are getting married," Ethan informed his wife and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I thought it was a little weird at first but apparently it's a small phase that all girls go through."

"I never did," Lily muttered under her breath.

"Daddy, have you got a ring for me?" Ava asked.

"Of course I...I do sweetie," Ethan said and slipped a gummy, Haribo ring onto one of Ava's fingers. Ava smiled and did the same for him. "Yay! Married!" Ethan said and clapped his hands to make Ava laughed.

"Yay!" She squealed.

"Wow princess," Lily gasped dramatically. "You stole my husband. How could you?"

"He's mine now," Ava giggled.

"Where's Zack?" Lily asked.

"Asleep," Ethan said. "How was work?"

"Um...Well..." Lily said. "Connie has the results for the T-E-S-T and she wants us to go in tomorrow with Cal of course so that we can get them."

"Oh my god," Ethan whispered and immediately he felt sick. "Who's going to look after Ava and Zack?"

"It's covered," Lily said. "I've asked Alicia. She doesn't mind." Ethan nodded and smiled at her. "Are you okay?" Lily asked. "I'm nervous too and if...If it does out to be Cal then that won't change anything. I'll still love you and you will always be the...D-A-D-D-Y. I...I'll always blame myself and I'll always wish that it never happened. Understand?"

"Course I do," Ethan sighed. "I'm just worried."

Lily nodded and held back her tears. "Me too. Do you want to contact Cal?"

"I guess," Ethan said. "It...It'll be okay, right?" Lily nodded. "Anyway, I have two lovely wives who I love so much. No matter what." And he smiled and glanced down at Ava in her wedding dress. "I love you princess," Ethan whispered, knowing that it would probably be the last time he'd ever say it as Ava's father.

* * *

"So how are we all?" Connie asked the next day when she'd gathered Cal, Ethan and Lily in her office. None of them spoke, they all just shrugged their shoulders. "Look, whatever these results hold then...We'll get through it."

"Will we?" Ethan asked, glaring across at his brother. He had no idea what he'd do if Cal was Ava's dad.

"We will," Connie said and held the envelope out to Lily. "Now, I think Lily should do the honours of reading out the results."

"I don't think I can," Lily whispered, anxiously looking at all three staring faces.

"You can," Connie encouraged her. "And whatever is in that envelope, we will still love you."

Lily looked at Connie, as she slowly took the envelope from her. She bit her lip and Ethan rubbed her back gently as she opened the envelope. Her chest tightened and she tried to take a breath, as she pulled out the piece of paper to read the results.

"Well?" Ethan asked, biting on his nails.

"You're the dad," Lily whispered, her eyes on the paper in front of him. "You're...You're Ava's dad."

"Really?" Ethan's eyes widened.

"Are you sure?" Cal asked. "That can't be right," he said and went to snatch the results from her.

"See for yourself!" Lily snapped and shoved the paper at Cal's chest.

Cal took a deep breath and had a look, realising that Ethan was in fact Ava's father. "It's true," he whispered.

"Oh my god, thank goodness!" Ethan yelled and flung his arms around Lily. "Thank god."

Cal shook his head and dropped the results to the floor before storming out of the office. Ethan went to follow him but Lily grabbed hold of his arm and shook her head.

"I'll go," she offered. "I think the last thing he needs right now is his brother."

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Positive," she said and rubbed his arms. "Just...Go and check on the kids."

She leaned in and kissed Ethan, before walking out of the office. She looked around and noticed that Cal was sitting on the stairs, a mixed look of anger and hurt on his face. She sighed and walked over, sitting down next to him.

"What's wrong?" She asked. "Why did you want to be Ava's dad so badly?" He gave a small shrug. "But I don't understand, Cal. You...You have a lovely little girl of your own."

"You wouldn't understand," he whispered.

"Try me," she threatened. "Try to help me because...I want to."

"I...I can't help but...Look at Ethan and feel jealous," Cal said. "He has the life that I've always wanted. I always thought that it would happen to me and not him."

"He has Huntington's," Lily reminded him.

"But he's married and has two lovely children," Cal said. "I may have Matilda but I never see Taylor anymore and I...I don't even have a girlfriend let alone a wife."

"That isn't all, is it?" Lily asked and tilted her head to one side. "I'm a mum now, Cal. I can tell when someone is lying to me. What's going on?"

"That...That's it..." Cal whispered and gulped a little, whilst rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm just jealous of my brother. I wanted to get married to the woman I love and...Have kids with her."

"And who's the woman you love?" Lily asked. "Because I know that it isn't Taylor."

Cal didn't say anything.

"Cal?" Lily pushed him.

"It's you, Lily," he sighed and turned to look her in the eyes. "I love you."

 **Cliffhanger! How will Lily react? Hope you enjoyed the chapter :-) x**


	34. Chapter 34

**Bonnie Sveen Fan: It was, I enjoyed writing that scene.**

 **panicatcasualty123: Nice little twist in the story there. Thank you and I had to make Ethan the dad but also it gave me ideas for upcoming scenes :-)**

 **CBloom2: Sorry for the long wait, haha. Hope this chapter makes up for it.**

 **sweeet-as-honey: Exactly! I love twists and turns in stories so I always try to write them in if I can. I never married my dad but some little girls do, they dream of weddings and I guess their dad is the only man they know really. I think it meant a lot to Ethan, he loves bonding time with his kids.**

 **Is-there-somewhere-x: Thank you :-)**

 **InfinityAndOne: I'm so sorry, lol! More to come :-)**

Chapter Thirty Four

Lily had no idea what to say. She wasn't even sure if she had heard right, did Caleb Knight really just say that he was in love with her? It made sense, she then understood why he had wanted to be Ava's father so much. She felt tears prick her eyes as she sat there in silence. She thought that it was all over, Ethan was Ava's dad so she assumed that the fear, the arguments and the paranoia had finished.

"Lily!" Alicia called and walked over with Zack in his arms, the baby bag draped over her left shoulder. "He needs a nappy change. Do you want me to deal with it?"

"Do you mind?" Lily whispered.

"Not at all," Alicia said with a smile. "Ava's in the staffroom doing some colouring and Robyn's keeping an eye on her. Take as long as you need."

Lily nodded at her and waited until Alicia had walked away with Zack. She then sighed and turned back to look at Cal, debating on what to actually say to him. He was like a stranger to her now.

"Why?" Lily asked.

"Why what?" Cal shrugged his shoulders.

"Why do you love me?" Lily elaborated.

"I don't know," he scoffed. "I can't help who the hell I fall in love with."

"For how long then?" Lily sighed and rolled her eyes.

"A while," Cal said and hung his head. "Since the time we slept together. Well, I guess I liked you a little bit before then as well. Look, I'm sorry to be throwing this on you now but I just couldn't hold it in any longer. I love Matilda and she's my little girl but I guess I kinda wanted my first child to be with you."

"But I'm married to your brother," Lily whispered. "And I love him and we have two wonderful children. That isn't going to change."

"You had depression after Ava was born and you almost went off the rails again after Zack was born!" Cal snapped. He didn't mean to, the words had just slipped out of his mouth. "Sorry," he apologised and placed his head in his hands.

"What do you mean by that?" Lily asked. "Come on, you have to tell me now."

"Well I'm just saying that you obviously can't be that happy," Cal said.

"I am happy!" Lily yelled. "I love your brother and I love my kids. As I said before, that isn't going to change. If you can't get over this Cal then I don't want to see you around my family and I really mean it this time."

"You can't do that," Cal said. "I'm Ethan's brother, Ava's uncle and Matilda and Ava are cousins and good friends!"

"I can do what I like when it comes to my children," Lily said and she stood up and stormed off to the bathroom. Alicia was in there leaning over the changing table as she changed Zack. "Get off him!" Lily yelled.

"What?" Alicia asked and lifted Zack into her arms. "You said that I could change him. Look how cute he looks in his little outfit with ducks on."

"Yes well he's changed now," Lily snapped and snatched him out of her arms, holding him close to her chest. "I'm taking Ava and Zack home. I won't be calling you to babysit anytime soon."

"What? Why?" Alicia asked and looked at her, confused. "Did I do something wrong Lily? Whatever it was, I...I'm sorry."

"Just leave me alone," Lily yelled at her and bounced Zack in her arms. "Come on little man, let's go and find your sister." Zack giggled and Lily carried him out and towards the staffroom. Ava and Robyn were sat on the floor doing some colouring. "Ava, princess. We're going now," Lily said. "Come on, get your stuff."

"With daddy?" Ava asked, standing up and grabbing her bag and coat from the sofa.

"Yes, with daddy," Lily said.

"Is Uncle Cal coming too?" Ava asked, struggling to get her coat on.

"Here honey, I'll help," Robyn offered.

"Leave it!" Lily snapped and turned to look at Ava. "Sweetheart, you won't need your coat because it's quite warm outside and Uncle Cal isn't coming, you won't be seeing Uncle Cal for a long time."

"Why not?" Ava asked and gave Lily a sad look. "What about Matilda?"

"We'll talk about it with daddy," Lily said. "Come on. We're leaving."

* * *

"So Zack's asleep," Ethan sighed and handed a glass of red wine to Lily who was sat at the kitchen table. "And Ava is in the living room watching Dora. Do you want to talk about it now?" He sat down and sipped at his own drink. "Something happened to make you want to leave that ED in such a hurry. I thought you'd be happy, I'm Ava's dad."

"I am happy," Lily whispered.

"Then what's wrong?" Ethan asked. "What did you and Cal talk about? Did he say something?"

"He really wanted to be Ava's dad," Lily said.

"Why?" Ethan frowned. "It's not like he doesn't have any children, he has Matilda."

"He's in love with me," Lily said quietly. "Has been for a long time, is jealous of you because you're married to me with two amazing children. He wanted to be Ava's dad because he loves me and don't bother telling me that it isn't true because it is. He told me himself."

"Oh my god," Ethan sighed and ran a hand down his face.

"I don't want anything to do with him," Lily said. "I know I said it before but I mean it this time. He's gone too far."

"Okay," Ethan said. "You're my wife and you come first. I love you, I want to do whatever it takes to make you feel safe."

"Thanks," Lily thanked him and gave him a smile.

"How about you, me and Ava all get changed into our favourite pyjamas?" Ethan asked. "Then we can all sit and watch a Christmas movie?"

"Christmas isn't for ages yet," Lily laughed.

"I know but there isn't anything wrong with starting early," Ethan said. "We need a real feel good film and Christmas films do that to people. Then when Zack wakes up, he can join us."

"That sounds great," Lily said. "Thank you. Then maybe, we could discuss this whole dog idea that Ava has stuck in her head."

* * *

When Cal returned to Holby, Ethan had given him a key to his and Lily's house. It was just in case, he needed to babysit Ava or check on the house when they were away and a couple of times it had been needed. It was the middle of the night and Cal and Matilda stood on the doorstep of the house, Matilda in her pyjamas with her cuddly dog and a blanket wrapped around her.

"Daddy, what are we doing at Uncle Ethan's and Aunt Lily's?" Matilda asked, rubbing at her tired eyes.

"Ssshh," Cal quietened her. "You need to be very quiet."

"Why?" Matilda whispered.

"Because I am taking you, Ava and Zack on a little trip," Cal whispered and crouched down in front of her. "But it's a secret so Uncle Ethan and Aunt Lily can't know about it. Do you understand?" Matilda nodded. "Good girl," Cal said and slowly unlocked the front door before tip toeing inside. "Now, I want you to stay here. Okay?"

"Please don't be long," Matilda said in a frightened voice.

"I won't," Cal said. "I just need to get your cousins. Don't go anywhere."

Matilda nodded and Cal slowly made his way up the stairs, keeping an eye out for toys that might cause him to trip and wake everyone up. He could hear Ethan snoring as he made his way towards the main bedroom. He slowly and cautiously walked inside and checked if Ethan and Lily were asleep. They were so carefully he leaned over the cot and lifted Zack into his arms. He gurgled but he soothed him and rubbed his back, before exiting. He could see Ava's bedroom across the landing.

"Ava," he whispered and walked inside. "Princess." He accidentally stepped on a baby doll and immediately, it started talking. He winced and waited until he heard Lily and Ethan stir but they didn't so he made his way over to Ava's bed. "Ava."

"What?" Ava yawned and opened her eyes. "Uncle Cal!"

"Sssshh," Cal whispered and clamped a hand over her mouth. "You need to be quiet. You can't wake your mum and dad."

"Why?" Ava asked.

"I'll explain everything in the car," Cal said. "But we have to go. I'm taking you and your brother somewhere exciting, Matilda's downstairs."

Ava gasped and grabbed her favourite toy and her blanket before climbing out of bed. Cal kissed her head and grabbed her slippers, jacket and backpack before going downstairs to the kitchen. Zack's pushchair with the nappy bag hanging on one of the handles sat by the door so he placed Zack inside and wheeled him over to Matilda, Ava following. They left the house together and Cal locked the door before getting the kids settled into the back seat.

"Are you girls ready?" Cal asked, hopping into the driver's seat.

"Where are we going, Uncle Cal?" Ava asked, jumping up and down in her seat.

"Oh you'll see," Cal said with a smile. "You'll see."

 **This story will be ending soon. Not many chapters left to go.**


	35. Chapter 35

**panicatcasualty123: Thank you :-)**

 **Is-there-somewhere-x: You'll soon see!**

 **CBloom2: It won't unfortunately and who knows how Lily and Ethan will react.**

 **InfinityAndOne: It feels like it's time now. I don't think he will but Ethan and Lily will still worry.**

Chapter Thirty Five

"We need to call the police," Lily panicked as she paced up and down the kitchen. She chewed on her nails, biting right down to the skin and grabbed hold of the phone that was sitting on the kitchen table. As she grabbed it, Ethan clamped a hand over hers. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"We can't call the police on my brother," Ethan said. "We don't even know if it was him."

"Of course it was him!" Lily snapped. "Do you see any broken windows or doors? He is the only one who has a key to our house!"

"Not the only one," Ethan whispered. "What about Connie and Alicia?"

"They wouldn't take our children," Lily half cried. "They would have rang me if they were stopping by. Ethan, our babies are missing and I am one hundred per cent sure that they are with Cal! You may not want to believe it but it's true!"

"He wouldn't hurt them though," Ethan said. "I know he wouldn't. I'd rather just sort it out, talk to him first before we get the police involved. I don't want to ring the police unless we really have to."

Lily was silent, her hand remaining on the phone.

"I'll ring him," Ethan said, slowly taking the phone from her. Lily stepped back and folded her arms across her chest as Ethan dialled and held the phone to his ear. "He isn't answering," he said when the phone had gone to voicemail.

"Then leave a message," Lily hissed.

"Hi Cal," Ethan sighed. "It's Ethan. Look, um...Ava and Zack have gone missing. We're not mad but...If you have them then please contact us, we just want to know if they're safe. Bye." And he hung up the phone and threw it down on the table.

"Have you any idea where he could have gone?" Lily asked and Ethan shook his head, running his hands down his face. "I'm going to ring Connie and Alicia, see if they can come round for a bit."

"Hey," Ethan comforted and gave her arm a rub. "We'll find them and we'll get them back. I promise."

* * *

"Cup of tea," Connie said as she handed a mug over to Lily, before sitting down next to her. Lily was sat on the sofa holding one of Zack's baby toys whilst Alicia sat on the other side. "So we're going to have to search the streets for any sign of Cal and the kids then."

"What if he comes back here though?" Lily asked. "And no one's home."

Ethan had his doubts that that would happen but he didn't want to say out loud in front of Lily.

"Well I can stay here if you want me to," Alicia said. "I don't mind."

"Thank you," Lily whispered.

"Well I'm coming with you and Ethan," Connie said and had a sip of her own drink. "You two need someone with you for a bit, I don't want to leave you alone not when something like this has happened."

"Could you give Dora some food?" Lily asked Alicia. "Ava would want her to be well looked after and fed."

"Of course I will," Alicia said. "I love rabbits. I'll text you if I hear anything."

"Come on," Connie said and gave her shoulder a rub. "I'll drive you both."

The drive was awkward and silent. Alicia had stayed home, Connie sat behind the wheel, Lily sat in the passenger seat and Ethan sat behind her. No one spoke, too busy focusing on where Ava and Zack could be. Were they even with Cal? Tears pricked Lily's eyes as she clutched Zack's toy, thousands of horrible thoughts running through her mind. Ethan felt close to tears himself but he leaned over and rub Lily's shoulder, knowing that he had to try and stay strong for his wife.

"I hate to talk about it because I know you're both upset," Connie said. "But do you have any idea where Cal might be? We need to start trying some places."

"I don't know," Ethan sighed and gave a solemn shrug.

"You're his brother!" Lily shouted at him.

"I know!" Ethan shouted back. "But I don't know where he could be! I'm sorry but...I just don't!"

"Can we stop shouting?" Connie asked calmly. "It isn't going to help Ava and Zack."

"I know," Lily sobbed. "I just want my little girl and my baby boy back though. I've been such a crap mother, they're probably better off with Cal."

"Don't you dare say that," Ethan said.

"It's true!" She yelled in tears.

"Lily, it isn't true," Connie whispered in a soothing voice.

"He's ruined our life, Ethan," Lily whispered. "Why did he even have to move back here? We were so happy, just the two of us with our little girl and our own place. Why couldn't he have just stayed in Bournemouth?"

"That's it!" Ethan yelled.

"What's it?" Lily sighed, biting on her nails, again biting down to the skin so it ended up bleeding this time.

"Bournemouth," Ethan said. "Cal loved it there and so did Matilda. I bet that's where they've gone, back home."

"Do you really think so?" Lily asked and Ethan nodded. "Connie, can we go there? Please?"

"Course," Connie agreed with a smile. "It's a good thing I filled the car up with petrol. Do you know where he used to live, Ethan?"

"I think so," Ethan said. "Just drive. I'll know when we get there."


	36. Chapter 36

**sweeet-as-honey: Thank you, it was hard to write him. It will be finishing soon I'm afraid.**

 **Is-there-somewhere-x: Me too, they're so lovely to them both :-)**

 **InfinityAndOne: She is and I love that side too, they rarely show it in the show but I love it when they do. Enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter Thirty Six

"Dad, look what we made!" Matilda squealed, as she gestured to the sandcastle that she and Ava had built together. Ava was sat beside her, laughing as she decorated their castle with lots of pretty, little shells. "Good, huh?"

"That's fantastic, princess," Cal praised as he sat on the sand with Zack next to him in the pushchair. "Do you girls fancy ice-cream later on?"

"Definitely," Matilda said.

"When will I be going home, Uncle Cal?" Ava asked. "I have some shells for mummy and daddy."

"You and Zack are staying, sweetheart," Cal said. "You'll be living with us now."

"Why?" Ava asked and her smile faded. "Does Mummy and Daddy not want us anymore? What about Dora? I miss Dora."

"You can watch Dora at my house," Cal told her.

"I meant my rabbit," Ava said and she hung her head, tears pricking her eyes.

"Mummy and Daddy will look after her," Cal said. "Besides, I'll be getting a dog for you and Matilda."

"Really?" Matilda squealed and her eyes widened. "Thanks Dad, that's awesome!"

Ava didn't feel as happy as Matilda though. She wanted her mum and dad, she wondered why she'd suddenly gone to stay with her uncle and cousin in Bournemouth and why Zack was there as well. Did her parents not want them anymore? She clutched one of the shells in her hands and sniffed as small tears rolled down her cheeks. She missed her mum and dad.

"Princess, are you okay?" Cal whispered, noticing that his niece looked upset.

"I want to go home," Ava whispered and wiped at her watery eyes.

"No, you...You don't," Cal said. "Come on, we're having fun and later on we'll have something nice to eat and..." He trailed off, just as he noticed some familiar shadows in the distance. He gulped, realising that it was Connie with Ethan and Lily alongside her. "We're having fun," he whispered.

"What are you doing, Cal?" Connie asked, as she stood with her arms crossed.

Ava looked up and turned her head to see Connie and her parents.

"Mummy!" She screamed and stood up, before running along the sand towards her mum and dad. "Daddy!" She immediately burst into tears, as Lily lifted her into her arms for a cuddle. "Mummy! I thought you didn't want me," she sobbed, resting her head against Lily's chest.

"Baby girl," Lily soothed and rubbed her back. "Of course we want you. Mummy and Daddy love you very much, you're our baby. Where's your brother?"

"Sleeping in his pram," Ava whispered and pointed towards the pushchair. "I got you a shell," she said and opened her hand to reveal the seashell that she had chosen specially for her mum. "It's for you."

"Oh princess, I love it," Lily said and took the shell from her. "And I'll treasure it always, thank you very much."

"Cal, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ethan asked his brother.

"What I should have done a long time ago," Cal said and stood up.

"Cal, they're our kids!" Lily snapped, clutching Ava tightly in her arms. "How dare you break into our house and steal them without leaving a note or anything? We had no idea where you'd gone!"

"Well clearly you did," Cal scoffed. "Because you're here now, aren't you?"

"Thanks to Ethan," Lily cried. "Luckily he knew how much you and Matilda missed this place, how much you wanted to come back! Connie was driving down here when Ethan spotted you out the window, down on the beach. I cannot believe you, this is a new low even for you."

"She's right bro," Ethan said and shook his head. "You kidnapped our kids! You're lucky that we didn't ring the police."

"You didn't, did you?" Cal panicked.

"Believe me, I wanted to," Lily whispered and kept Ava in her arms. "But Ethan suggested that we talk to you first. It isn't too late though, we could easily change our minds."

"Don't!" Cal said, glancing across at Matilda who was staring at him with sad eyes. "Mrs Beauchamp, could...Could you walk the kids along the sand or something? I...I don't want Matilda to hear this."

"In these heels?" Connie frowned but Cal was staring at her. "Okay fine, come on kids."

"Go on," Lily whispered and placed Ava on the sand. "Go with Connie, she'll look after you." Lily leaned down and gave Ava a kiss and Ava walked over and took hold of Connie's hand. Connie then grabbed the handle of Zack's pushchair and started pushing him along the sand with Ava and Matilda in tow. "We're listening," Lily said and crossed her arms.

"I'm so sorry," Cal apologised quietly. "I didn't mean for it to go this far."

"Why'd you do it, Cal?" Ethan asked and shrugged his shoulders. "Why did you do it?"

"I was jealous," Cal whispered and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Earlier felt...It felt nice. It was just me and the kids and I felt like I had a family. I kept imagining like I was the dad of all of them and that my wife had just walked off to get us fish and chips or ice-cream."

"Cal, you need help," Ethan said. "You're not well."

"Besides, Matilda's family," Lily told him. "You don't need anyone else, Cal because you have a beautiful little girl who loves you and looks up to you."

Cal nodded, tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry that things turned out like this," Lily said. "But you need to understand that I don't have feelings for you. I love Ethan and I love my kids but you can be happy as well, just like us. You don't need a wife or a girlfriend to be happy because you have an amazing brother and an amazing daughter. That's all you need in your life."

"Do you think so?" Cal asked and they both nodded. "I really am sorry, guys."

"We know," Ethan said. "Right Lily?"

"Yeah," Lily sighed. "We do."

"Look, I know that you guys are okay and stuff but the truth is you'll never fully forgive me," Cal said. "And I feel bad for the crap that I've put you both through so Matilda and I are going to move back here."

"You don't have to do that," Ethan said.

"I want to," Cal said. "I'm sorry but the truth is, this is where I truly belong. This was where I felt happier."

 **Two more chapters to go. Don't worry though, they'll be loads of new stories from me :-)**


	37. Chapter 37

**InfinityAndOne: He is bless him, not long to go until the end :-)**

Chapter Thirty Seven

Lily was staring out of the kitchen window with a cup of tea in her hand. In the living room, she could hear the joyful sound of her two children. Ava was giggling and talking to Zack whilst Zack gurgled and made the usual baby noises from his playpen. She sighed and sipped at her tea just as Ethan walked over and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Are you okay?" He whispered softly in her ear.

"I think so," Lily sighed. "I was so scared, Ethan. I...I actually thought that I'd lost my kids forever, I had no idea what Cal was going to do to them."

"Hey, they're back now," Ethan comforted. "They're back with us. It's over, everything's over." Lily nodded and rested her head against his chest, a small smile on her face. "Come on, Ava is dying to have a game of Scrabble with us."

"Scrabble?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "Such a logical game. We've raised her well."

"She's a mini you," Ethan chuckled. "Come on. She's getting excited."

Lily nodded and carried her tea through to the living room. Ava was sat on the floor, setting up the board for Scrabble on the mini coffee table. Lily placed her mug on the end table next to the sofa and lifted Zack out of his playpen before sitting down on the floor with him in her lap. Ava finished setting up the board and crawled onto Lily's knee, making sure to be careful of her brother.

"My babies," Lily said, kissing each of them on the head. "Okay Ava, why don't you go first? Is Zack on your team?"

"Yes!" Ava smiled at her. "But I have to make the move because he's just a baby."

"That's right," Lily said. "Go on then."

It felt nice sitting there as a family, enjoying a board game together. For a second, it made Lily and Ethan forget about everything that had happened. They had their children back and they were still going to have their struggles with Ethan's illness but Lily now knew to just take it one step at a time. For now he was okay and that was all that mattered.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ethan asked Lily halfway through the game. "You're really quiet."

Lily gave a small shrug. "I'm just enjoying the family time," she replied. "It's nice."

"Yeah, it is," Ethan agreed, smiling lovingly at his wife.

"Look!" Ava squealed and pointed to the board. She'd spelt out the word, 'doctor.'

"Wow!" Lily laughed. "Look at you!"

"Just like Mummy and Daddy," she said. "I'd like to be a doctor when I'm older."

"Would you?" Ethan asked. "Why is that?"

"Because I can help people," Ava said. "And I can be like you and Mummy. I'd like that."

"Well I've always said that you would make a good little doctor," Lily said, bouncing Ava and Zack up and down on her lap. "Whose turn is it anyway? It's Daddy's, isn't it?" Ava nodded. "Go on Ethan, your move."

Ethan was about to make his move when there was a knock on the door. "You can take my go Ava," he said, seeing that Lily had her hands full with the kids. "I'll go and see who's at the door." And he got up off of the floor and walked through to the front door.

"Ethan," Connie greeted, as soon as he opened the door. "How are you doing? Can I come in?"

"Yeah, of course," Ethan said and let Connie in, before shutting the door behind her. "Um...Do you want a drink?"

"No, I'm fine," Connie said. "Did I come at a bad time?"

"No, not at all," Ethan said. "Lily and I are just having a game of Scrabble with Ava. She was desperate to play. Can I help with anything?"

"I just thought I'd come and check up on you both," Connie said. "You've been through a lot recently. How are you handling things?"

"Okay," Ethan said. "Lily's quite shaken up because...Well, we almost lost our kids didn't we? Can you blame her?"

"No," Connie whispered. "Is Cal really leaving?"

"I think so," Ethan sighed. "I haven't spoken to him much but as far as I'm aware, that's still the plan. I was so happy to have my brother back Mrs Beauchamp, I can't believe he's leaving again."

"It's for the best though, isn't it?" Connie said. "After what he's put you and Lily through. The two of you can now move on and be happy again. You don't have to worry anymore."

"Lily's still worrying though," Ethan whispered and leaned back against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

"What do you mean?" Connie asked.

"She said she's fine but she's still worrying," Ethan said. "She was just stood staring out of the window earlier and she wants Ava to sleep with us tonight. She's still paranoid, scared that Cal's going to do something again. You knew what she was like after Ava and Zack were born."

"I know," she sighed. "Well she's still having the sessions with me but maybe we need to get her some proper counselling in place."

"I don't know," Ethan said. "I just want to move on from everything, be a family again."

"You were always a family, Ethan," Connie said.

"A broken one," he corrected her. "I thought I was losing my wife at one point, then I lost my kids and now I'm losing my brother."

"You're not losing him," she said. "You'll always be brothers. He can come and visit and you can visit him and he's just at the other end of the phone."

"I just don't know if I can forgive him yet," he whispered. "He took Ava and Zack."

"You will forgive him," Connie said and gave him a comforting hug. "Some day. It might just take a little bit of time."


	38. Epilogue

**This is the last chapter. It's a bit of a sad but happy end as well. I've really enjoyed writing this story and I'm sad to see it finish but I hope you've all enjoyed reading it. There will be more stories to come from me :-)**

Epilogue

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the sound of the sea and children playing could be heard. Everyone was happy and nothing could bring anyone's mood down. Down on the sand, Ethan sat in his wheelchair watching his children play together along with their gorgeous golden retriever, Daisy. Zack was now five and exactly like Ava was when she was at that age. Ava was growing up quickly and in a few years time would be a teenager. Ethan smiled, wishing that he could still run around with them but his disease has kicked in fast and his legs just weren't as good as they used to be.

"Dad!" Ava yelled and rushed up the sand in her shorts and vest top, Daisy following closely at her heels. "Come on, come and join us."

"I'm fine here princess," Ethan told her. "Go on, you need to be watching Zack."

"He's fine," Ava giggled and glanced towards her little brother. He was giggling as he jumped over the waves. "Please. I'll push you." Ethan smiled and shook his head. "What are you reading?" He asked, gesturing to the book in his lap.

"Stephen King," Ethan told her. "You're too young for his stories."

"Dad," Ava laughed. "I'm not a little girl anymore."

"Ava, why aren't you watching your brother?" Lily called, as she came back with some ice-creams. "Zack! Sweetheart, come to mummy!" Zack nodded and raced straight over, diving into the sand. "Okay, here you go pumpkin," Lily said, unwrapping an ice-cream and handing it to Zack. "Now, what do you say?"

"Thank you," Zack whispered and began eating it straight away.

"Good boy," Lily praised him.

Ava and Zack settled down on the picnic blanket and Lily handed Ava and Ethan an ice-cream each. Daisy settled down beside Ava, panting because of the heat. Lily still felt nervous around dogs but she'd got used to Daisy and the kids absolutely loved her.

"Can I join you?" A voice asked and they all turned to see Cal and Matilda walking towards them. "Hey," he greeted Lily before walking round to give his brother a hug.

Things were still awkward between the three of them but over the years Lily and Ethan had slowly forgiven Cal for what he'd done. It was slightly easier now that Cal had moved to Bournemouth and they'd made a group decision to take regular family trips to the beach where Ethan and Cal used to go as children.

"Hi Matilda," Lily said to the older girl. "You've grown, haven't you?"

"Thanks," she whispered and sat herself down beside Ava. She was still as pretty as ever with light blonde hair and shiny blue eyes. She wore silver, dangly earrings, shorts and a pink vest top, white sandals and a black Michael Kors handbag hung off one shoulder.

"Yeah and she has a boyfriend now," Cal teased and ruffled her hair.

"He isn't my boyfriend," Matilda scoffed. "God Dad, you're so embarrassing."

"It's a dad's job to be embarrassing," Ethan chuckled. "I'm the same to Ava."

"Matilda, did you want an ice-cream?" Lily asked, offering her one from the selection that she'd just bought.

"Thank you," Matilda thanked her shyly and took one for herself.

Ethan and Cal smiled at each other, the memories of their past slowly fading with each day that went by. Matilda and Ava were young girls slowly entering their teenage years, Zack had started school and was growing into a lovely young man, Ethan and Lily were happily married and although Cal hadn't found that love of his life he'd been searching for he was happy as well. His feelings for Lily had faded a long time ago and for now, they were getting along just fine. Their secrets were out and they were all able to live a long and happy life together.

 **Well that's the end of the story. I really hope you liked it, I loved this chapter. Thank you for reading and leaving reviews and there'll be more to come from me :-) x**


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